This is a list of cells in

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

s derived from the three embryonic

germ layer A germ layer is a primary layer of cells that forms during embryonic development. The three germ layers in vertebrates are particularly pronounced; however, all eumetazoans (animals that are sister taxa to the sponges) produce two or three pr ...

s –

ectoderm The ectoderm is one of the three primary germ layers formed in early embryonic development. It is the outermost layer, and is superficial to the mesoderm (the middle layer) and endoderm (the innermost layer). It emerges and originates from t ...

mesoderm The mesoderm is the middle layer of the three germ layers that develops during gastrulation in the very early development of the embryo of most animals. The outer layer is the ectoderm, and the inner layer is the endoderm.Langman's Medical E ...

, and

endoderm Endoderm is the innermost of the three primary germ layers in the very early embryo. The other two layers are the ectoderm (outside layer) and mesoderm (middle layer). Cells migrating inward along the archenteron form the inner layer of the gast ...

Cells derived from ectoderm

Surface ectoderm

Skin

* Trichocyte *

Keratinocyte Keratinocytes are the primary type of Cell (biology), cell found in the epidermis (skin), epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. In humans, they constitute 90% of epidermal skin cells. Basal cells in the stratum basale, basal layer (''str ...

Anterior pituitary

Gonadotrope Gonadotropic cells (called also Gonadotropes or Gonadotrophs or Delta Cells or Delta basophils) are endocrine cells in the anterior pituitary that produce the gonadotropins, such as the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormon ...

Corticotrope Corticotropes (or corticotrophs) are basophilic cells in the anterior pituitary that produce pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) which undergoes cleavage to adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), β-lipotropin (β-LPH), and melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH). Thes ...

Thyrotrope Thyrotropes (also called thyrotrophs) are endocrine cells in the anterior pituitary which produce thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in response to thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH).Guyton, A.C. & Hall, J.E. (2006) ''Textbook of Medical Physiology ...

Somatotrope Somatotropes (from the Greek ''sōmat'' meaning "body" and ''tropikós'' meaning "of or pertaining to a turn or change") are cells in the anterior pituitary that produce growth hormone. Structure Somatotropic cells constitute about 30−40% of ant ...

* Lactotroph

Tooth enamel

Ameloblast Ameloblasts are cells present only during tooth development that deposit tooth enamel, which is the hard outermost layer of the tooth forming the surface of the crown. Structure Each ameloblast is a columnar cell approximately 4 micrometers in ...

Neural crest

Peripheral nervous system

Neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

Glia Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. They maintain homeostasis, form myel ...

Schwann cell Schwann cells or neurolemmocytes (named after German physiologist Theodor Schwann) are the principal glia of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Glial cells function to support neurons and in the PNS, also include satellite cells, olfactory ens ...

Satellite glial cell Satellite glial cells, formerly called amphicytes, are glial cells that cover the surface of neuron cell bodies in ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. Thus, they are found in sensory, sympathetic, and parasympathetic ganglia. Both s ...

Neuroendocrine system

Chromaffin cell Chromaffin cells, also called pheochromocytes (or phaeochromocytes), are neuroendocrine cells found mostly in the medulla of the adrenal glands in mammals. These cells serve a variety of functions such as serving as a response to stress, monito ...

Glomus cell Glomus cells are the cell type mainly located in the carotid bodies and aortic bodies. Glomus type I cells are peripheral chemoreceptors which sense the oxygen, carbon dioxide and pH levels of the blood. When there is a decrease in the blood's p ...

Skin

Melanocyte Melanocytes are melanin-producing neural crest-derived cells located in the bottom layer (the stratum basale) of the skin's epidermis, the middle layer of the eye (the uvea), the inner ear, vaginal epithelium, meninges, bones, and heart. ...

Nevus cell Nevus cells are a variant of melanocytes. They are larger than typical melanocytes, do not have dendrites, and have more abundant cytoplasm with coarse granules. They are usually located at the dermoepidermal junction or in the dermis of the skin. ...

Merkel cell Merkel cells, also known as Merkel-Ranvier cells or tactile epithelial cells, are oval-shaped mechanoreceptors essential for light touch sensation and found in the skin of vertebrates. They are abundant in highly sensitive skin like that of the f ...

Teeth

Odontoblast In vertebrates, an odontoblast is a cell of neural crest origin that is part of the outer surface of the dental pulp, and whose biological function is dentinogenesis, which is the formation of dentin, the substance beneath the tooth enamel on t ...

Cementoblast A cementoblast is a biological cell that forms from the follicular cells around the root of a tooth, and whose biological function is cementogenesis, which is the formation of cementum (hard tissue that covers the tooth root). The mechanism of di ...

Eyes

Corneal keratocyte Corneal keratocytes (corneal fibroblasts) are specialized fibroblasts residing in the stroma. This corneal layer, representing about 85-90% of corneal thickness, is built up from highly regular collagenous lamellae and extracellular matrix compone ...

Neural tube

Central nervous system

Astrocyte Astrocytes (from Ancient Greek , , "star" + , , "cavity", "cell"), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical control of e ...

** Ependymocytes **

Muller glia Muller is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: A–H * A. Charles Muller (born 1953), translator *Bauke Muller (born 1962), Dutch bridge player *Bennie Muller (born 1938), Dutch footballer *Bill Muller (1965–2007), US journalist ...

(retina) **

Oligodendrocyte Oligodendrocytes (), or oligodendroglia, are a type of neuroglia whose main functions are to provide support and insulation to axons in the central nervous system of jawed vertebrates, equivalent to the function performed by Schwann cells in the ...

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cell Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), also known as oligodendrocyte precursor cells, NG2-glia, O2A cells, or polydendrocytes, are a subtype of glia in the central nervous system named for their essential role as precursors to oligodendrocytes. ...

Pituicyte Pituicytes are glial cells of the posterior pituitary. Their main role is to assist in the storage and release of neurohypophysial hormones. Structure Pituicytes are located in the pars nervosa of the posterior pituitary and interspersed with un ...

(posterior pituitary)

Pineal gland

Pinealocyte Pinealocytes are the main cells contained in the pineal gland, located behind the third ventricle and between the two hemispheres of the brain. The primary function of the pinealocytes is the secretion of the hormone melatonin, important in th ...

Cells derived from mesoderm

Paraxial mesoderm

Mesenchymal stem cell

=Osteochondroprogenitor cell

= * Bone ( Osteoblast →

Osteocyte An osteocyte, an oblate shaped type of bone cell with dendritic processes, is the most commonly found cell in mature bone. It can live as long as the organism itself. The adult human body has about 42 billion of them. Osteocytes do not divide an ...

) * Cartilage (

Chondroblast Chondroblasts, or perichondrial cells, is the name given to mesenchymal progenitor cells in situ which, from endochondral ossification, will form chondrocytes in the growing cartilage matrix. Another name for them is subchondral cortico-spon ...

→ Chondrocyte)

=Myofibroblast

= * Fat **

Lipoblast A lipoblast is a precursor cell for an adipocyte. Alternate terms include adipoblast and preadipocyte. Early stages are almost indistinguishable from fibroblasts. File:Lipoblasts and lipocytes.jpg, Lipoblasts (white arrow) and lipocytes (black ...

→

Adipocyte Adipocytes, also known as lipocytes and fat cells, are the cells that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat. Adipocytes are derived from mesenchymal stem cells which give rise to adipocytes through adipogenesis. I ...

* Muscle **

Myoblast Myogenesis is the formation of skeletal muscular tissue, particularly during embryonic development. Muscle fibers generally form through the fusion of precursor myoblasts into multinucleated fibers called ''myotubes''. In the early development o ...

→

Myocyte A muscle cell is also known as a myocyte when referring to either a cardiac muscle cell (cardiomyocyte), or a smooth muscle cell as these are both small cells. A skeletal muscle cell is long and threadlike with many nuclei and is called a mus ...

Myosatellite cell Myosatellite cells, also known as satellite cells, muscle stem cells or MuSCs, are small multipotent cells with very little cytoplasm found in mature muscle. Satellite cells are precursors to skeletal muscle cells, able to give rise to satellite ...

Tendon cell Vertebrates Tendon cells, or tenocytes, are elongated fibroblast type cells. The cytoplasm is stretched between the collagen fibres of the tendon. They have a central cell nucleus with a prominent nucleolus. Tendon cells have a well-developed ...

Cardiac muscle cell Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle, myocardium, cardiomyocytes and cardiac myocytes) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, with the other two being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle tha ...

*Other ** Fibroblast →

Fibrocyte A fibrocyte is an inactive mesenchymal cell, that is, a cell showing minimal cytoplasm, limited amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum and lacks biochemical evidence of protein synthesis. The term ''fibrocyte'' contrasts with the term ''fibrobl ...

Other

* Digestive system **

Interstitial cell of Cajal Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are interstitial cells found in the gastrointestinal tract. There are different types of ICC with different functions. ICC and another type of interstitial cell, known as platelet-derived growth factor receptor ...

Intermediate mesoderm

Renal stem cell

Angioblast Angioblasts (or vasoformative cells) are embryonic cells from which the endothelium of blood vessels arises. They are derived from embryonic mesoderm. Blood vessels first make their appearance in several scattered vascular areas that are develope ...

→

Endothelial cell The endothelium is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel ...

Mesangial cell Mesangial cells are specialised cells in the kidney that make up the mesangium of the glomerulus. Together with the mesangial matrix, they form the vascular pole of the renal corpuscle. The mesangial cell population accounts for approximately 3 ...

** Intraglomerular ** Extraglomerular *

Juxtaglomerular cell Juxtaglomerular cells (JG cells), also known as juxtaglomerular granular cells are cells in the kidney that synthesize, store, and secrete the enzyme renin. They are specialized smooth muscle cells mainly in the walls of the afferent arteriol ...

Macula densa cell In the kidney, the macula densa is an area of closely packed specialized cell (biology), cells lining the wall of the distal tubule, at the point where the Ascending limb of loop of Henle, thick ascending limb of the Loop of Henle meets the dist ...

Stromal cell Stromal cells, or mesenchymal stromal cells, are differentiating cells found in abundance within bone marrow but can also be seen all around the body. Stromal cells can become connective tissue cells of any organ, for example in the uterine mucosa ...

→

Interstitial cell Interstitial cell refers to any cell that lies in the spaces between the functional cells of a tissue. Examples include: * Interstitial cell of Cajal (ICC) * Leydig cells, cells present in the male testes responsible for the production of androg ...

→ Telocytes * Simple epithelial cell →

Podocyte Podocytes are cells in Bowman's capsule in the kidneys that wrap around capillaries of the glomerulus. Podocytes make up the epithelial lining of Bowman's capsule, the third layer through which filtration of blood takes place. Bowman's capsule ...

* Kidney proximal tubule brush border cell

Reproductive system

Sertoli cell Sertoli cells are a type of sustentacular "nurse" cell found in human testes which contribute to the process of spermatogenesis (the production of sperm) as a structural component of the seminiferous tubules. They are activated by follicle-stimul ...

Leydig cell Leydig cells, also known as interstitial cells of the testes and interstitial cells of Leydig, are found adjacent to the seminiferous tubules in the testicle and produce testosterone in the presence of luteinizing hormone (LH). They are polyhedral ...

Granulosa cell A granulosa cell or follicular cell is a somatic cell of the sex cord that is closely associated with the developing female gamete (called an oocyte or egg) in the ovary of mammals. Structure and function In the primordial ovarian follicle, and la ...

* Peg cell *

germ cell Germ or germs may refer to: Science * Germ (microorganism), an informal word for a pathogen * Germ cell, cell that gives rise to the gametes of an organism that reproduces sexually * Germ layer, a primary layer of cells that forms during emb ...

s (which migrate here primordially) ** spermatozoon **

ovum The egg cell, or ovum (plural ova), is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete is ...

Lateral plate mesoderm/hemangioblast

Hematopoietic stem cell

Lymphoid The lymphatic system, or lymphoid system, is an organ system in vertebrates that is part of the immune system, and complementary to the circulatory system. It consists of a large network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, lymphatic or lymphoid o ...

Lymphoblast __NOTOC__ A lymphoblast is a modified naive lymphocyte with altered cell morphology. It occurs when the lymphocyte is activated by an antigen (from antigen-presenting cells) and increased in volume by nucleus and cytoplasm growth as well as new mRN ...

** ''see lymphocytes'' * Myeloid **

CFU-GEMM CFU-GEMM is a colony forming unit that generates myeloid cells. CFU-GEMM cells are the oligopotential progenitor cells for myeloid cells; they are thus also called common myeloid progenitor cells or myeloid stem cells. "GEMM" stands for granulocyt ...

** ''see

myeloid cells A myelocyte is a young cell of the granulocytic series, occurring normally in bone marrow (can be found in circulating blood when caused by certain diseases). Structure When stained with the usual dyes, the cytoplasm is distinctly basophilic ...

Circulatory system

Endothelial progenitor cell Endothelial progenitor cell (or EPC) is a term that has been applied to multiple different cell types that play roles in the regeneration of the endothelial lining of blood vessels. Outgrowth endothelial cells are an EPC subtype committed to endot ...

* Endothelial colony forming cell *

Endothelial stem cell Endothelial stem cells (ESCs) are one of three types of stem cells found in bone marrow. They are multipotent, which describes the ability to give rise to many cell types, whereas a pluripotent stem cell can give rise to all types. ESCs have t ...

/ Mesoangioblast *

Pericyte Pericytes (previously known as Rouget cells) are multi-functional mural cells of the microcirculation that wrap around the endothelial cells that line the capillaries throughout the body. Pericytes are embedded in the basement membrane of blood ca ...

Mural cell Mural cells are the vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs), and pericytes, of the microcirculation. Both types are in close contact with the endothelial cells lining the capillaries, and are important for vascular development and stability. Mural cel ...

Cells derived from endoderm

Foregut

Respiratory system

* Pneumocyte ** Type I cell **

Type II cell A pulmonary alveolus (plural: alveoli, from Latin ''alveolus'', "little cavity"), also known as an air sac or air space, is one of millions of hollow, distensible cup-shaped cavities in the lungs where oxygen Molecular diffusion#Biology, is exch ...

Club cell Club cells, also known as bronchiolar exocrine cells, and formerly known as Clara cells, are low columnar/cuboidal cells with short microvilli, found in the small airways (bronchioles) of the lungs. Club cells are found in the ciliated simple epit ...

* Goblet cell *

Pulmonary neuroendocrine cell Neuroendocrine cells are cells that receive neuronal input (through neurotransmitters released by nerve cells or neurosecretory cells) and, as a consequence of this input, release messenger molecules (hormones) into the blood. In this way they bri ...

Digestive system

=Stomach

= *

Enteroendocrine cell Enteroendocrine cells are specialized cells of the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas with endocrine function. They produce gastrointestinal hormones or peptides in response to various stimuli and release them into the bloodstream for systemic eff ...

** G cell **

Delta cell Delta cells (δ-cells or D cells) are somatostatin-producing cells. They can be found in the stomach, intestine and the pancreatic islets. Delta cells comprise ca 5% of the cells in the islets but may interact with many more islet cells than sug ...

Enterochromaffin-like cell Enterochromaffin-like cells or ECL cells are a type of neuroendocrine cell found in the gastric glands of the gastric mucosa beneath the epithelium, in particular in the vicinity of parietal cells, that aid in the production of gastric acid via t ...

Gastric chief cell A gastric chief cell (or peptic cell, or gastric zymogenic cell) is a type of gastric gland cell that releases pepsinogen and gastric lipase. It is the cell responsible for secretion of chymosin in ruminant animals. The cell stains basophilic upo ...

Parietal cell Parietal cells (also known as oxyntic cells) are epithelial cells in the stomach that secrete hydrochloric acid (HCl) and intrinsic factor. These cells are located in the gastric glands found in the lining of the fundus and body regions of the s ...

Foveolar cell Foveolar cells or surface mucous cells are mucus-producing cells which cover the inside of the stomach, protecting it from the corrosive nature of gastric acid. These cells line the gastric mucosa (mucous neck cells are found in the necks of the ...

=Intestine

= *

Gastric inhibitory polypeptide Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), also known as Gastric inhibitory polypeptide or gastric inhibitory peptide (also abbreviated as GIP), is an inhibiting hormone of the secretin family of hormones. While it is a weak inhibitor ...

** S cell **

Cholecystokinin Cholecystokinin (CCK or CCK-PZ; from Greek ''chole'', "bile"; ''cysto'', "sac"; ''kinin'', "move"; hence, ''move the bile-sac (gallbladder)'') is a peptide hormone of the gastrointestinal system responsible for stimulating the digestion of fat and ...

Enterochromaffin cell Enterochromaffin (EC) cells (also known as Kulchitsky cells) are a type of enteroendocrine cell, and neuroendocrine cell. They reside alongside the epithelium lining the lumen of the digestive tract and play a crucial role in gastrointestinal reg ...

* Goblet cell *

Paneth cell Paneth cells are cells in the small intestine epithelium, alongside goblet cells, enterocytes, and enteroendocrine cells. Some can also be found in the cecum and appendix. They are below the intestinal stem cells in the intestinal glands (al ...

Tuft cell Tuft cells are chemosensory cells in the epithelial lining of the intestines. Similar tufted cells are found in the respiratory epithelium where they are known as brush cells. The name "tuft" refers to the brush-like microvilli projecting from ...

* Enterocyte **

Microfold cell Microfold cells (or M cells) are found in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) of the Peyer's patches in the small intestine, and in the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) of other parts of the gastrointestinal tract. These cells are kn ...

=Liver

= *

Hepatocyte A hepatocyte is a cell of the main parenchymal tissue of the liver. Hepatocytes make up 80% of the liver's mass. These cells are involved in: * Protein synthesis * Protein storage * Transformation of carbohydrates * Synthesis of cholesterol, ...

Hepatic stellate cell Hepatic stellate cells (HSC), also known as perisinusoidal cells or Ito cells (earlier ''lipocytes'' or ''fat-storing cells''), are pericytes found in the perisinusoidal space of the liver, also known as the space of Disse (a small area between th ...

beta cell Beta cells (β-cells) are a type of cell found in pancreatic islets that synthesize and secrete insulin and amylin. Beta cells make up 50–70% of the cells in human islets. In patients with Type 1 diabetes, beta-cell mass and function are di ...

delta cell Delta cells (δ-cells or D cells) are somatostatin-producing cells. They can be found in the stomach, intestine and the pancreatic islets. Delta cells comprise ca 5% of the cells in the islets but may interact with many more islet cells than sug ...

PP cell Pancreatic polypeptide cells (PP cells), or formerly as gamma cells (γ-cells), or F cells, are cells in the pancreatic islets (Islets of Langerhans) of the pancreas. Their main role is to help synthesize and regulate the release of pancreatic pol ...

(F cell, gamma cell) *

epsilon cell Epsilon cells (ε-cells) are one of the five types of endocrine Cell (biology), cells found in regions of the pancreas called Islets of Langerhans. Epsilon cells produce the hormone ghrelin that induces hunger. They were first discovered in mice. I ...

Pharyngeal pouch

* Thyroid gland ** Follicular cell **

Parafollicular cell Parafollicular cells, also called C cells, are neuroendocrine cells in the thyroid. The primary function of these cells is to secrete calcitonin. They are located adjacent to the thyroid follicles and reside in the connective tissue. These cells a ...

Parathyroid gland Parathyroid glands are small endocrine glands in the neck of humans and other tetrapods. Humans usually have four parathyroid glands, located on the back of the thyroid gland in variable locations. The parathyroid gland produces and secretes pa ...

Parathyroid chief cell Parathyroid chief cells (also called parathyroid principal cells or simply parathyroid cells, C-cells, or parafollicular cells) are one of the two cell types of the parathyroid glands, along with oxyphil cells. The chief cells are much more preva ...

** Oxyphil cell

Hindgut/cloaca

* Urothelial cell

References

{{Reflist Germ layers Embryology Gastrulation

Cells derived from ectoderm

Surface ectoderm

Skin

Anterior pituitary

Tooth enamel

Neural crest

Peripheral nervous system

Neuroendocrine system

Skin

Teeth

Eyes

Neural tube

Central nervous system

Pineal gland

Cells derived from mesoderm

Paraxial mesoderm

Mesenchymal stem cell

=Osteochondroprogenitor cell

=Myofibroblast

Other

Intermediate mesoderm

Renal stem cell

Reproductive system

Lateral plate mesoderm/hemangioblast

Hematopoietic stem cell

Circulatory system

Cells derived from endoderm

Foregut

Respiratory system

Digestive system

=Stomach

=Intestine

=Liver

=Gallbladder

=Exocrine component of pancreas

Islets of Langerhans

Pharyngeal pouch

Hindgut/cloaca

See also

References