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adipose tissue
Saturday 14 January 2006
fat tissue; Conrad Gessner, 1551.
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Definition: Adipose tissue is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes.
In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells and a variety of immune cells such as adipose tissue macrophages.
Adipose tissue is derived from preadipocytes.
Its main role is to store energy in the form of lipids, although it also cushions and insulates the body.
Far from being hormonally inert, adipose tissue has, in recent years, been recognized as a major endocrine organ, as it produces hormones such as leptin, estrogen, resistin, and the cytokine TNFα.
The two types of adipose tissue are white adipose tissue (WAT), which stores energy, and brown adipose tissue (BAT), which generates body heat.
The formation of adipose tissue appears to be controlled in part by the adipose gene.
Images
Adipose tissue
Types
visceral fat depots
subcutaneous fat depots
Components
adipose lobules
- adipocytes
adipose interlobualr septa
Pathology
anomalies of the adipose tissue
adipose tissue tumors
- adipocytic tumors / adipous tumors
References
Sethi JK, Vidal-Puig A. Visfatin: the missing link between intra-abdominal obesity and diabetes? Trends Mol Med. 2005 Aug;11(8):344-7. PMID: 16005682