Biology / Unit 2 Bio 0312 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Desmosomes
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The idea
A desmosome is a spot-weld junction, built from cadherin proteins linked to intermediate filaments, that holds adjacent epithelial cells in a sheet.
In practice
A nineteenth-century anatomist examining a skin biopsy under a microscope first named these spot-welds holding epithelial sheets together under strain.
Where people slip
A desmosome anchors cells mechanically; it does not seal the space between them as a tight junction does.
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