Fenestrated capillaries

Fenestrated capillaries are present in locations, such as endocrine tissues, digestive system, and renal glomeruli, to facilitate transport through the capillary wall. On the left is a light micrograph of endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary gland. The electron micrograph on the right shows a pituitary cell adjacent to a fenestrated capillary. Fenestrations are only visible with the electron microscope. 1000x (left), 10,000x (right)

Fenestrated capillaries are present in locations, such as endocrine tissues, digestive system, and renal glomeruli, to facilitate transport through the capillary wall. On the left is a light micrograph of endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary gland. The electron micrograph on the right shows a pituitary cell adjacent to a fenestrated capillary. Fenestrations are only visible with the electron microscope. 1000x (left), 10,000x (right)

Fenestrated capillaries are present in locations, such as endocrine tissues, digestive system, and renal glomeruli, to facilitate transport through the capillary wall. On the left is a light micrograph of endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary gland. The electron micrograph on the right shows a pituitary cell adjacent to a fenestrated capillary. Fenestrations are only visible with the electron microscope. 1000x (left), 10,000x (right)

Fenestrated capillaries are present in locations, such as endocrine tissues, digestive system, and renal glomeruli, to facilitate transport through the capillary wall. On the left is a light micrograph of endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary gland. The electron micrograph on the right shows a pituitary cell adjacent to a fenestrated capillary. Fenestrations are only visible with the electron microscope. 1000x (left), 10,000x (right)

Fenestrated capillaries are present in locations, such as endocrine tissues, digestive system, and renal glomeruli, to facilitate transport through the capillary wall. On the left is a light micrograph of endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary gland. The electron micrograph on the right shows a pituitary cell adjacent to a fenestrated capillary. Fenestrations are only visible with the electron microscope. 1000x (left), 10,000x (right)

Pericytes, are multipotential cells with contractile properties that surround capillaries and postcapillary venules. They have highly branched cytoplasmic processes and are enclosed by a basal lamina that is continuous with that of the endothelial cells.

Both the endothelial cell and the gland cell are epithelial and thus each has a basal lamina. The red arrows indicate the basal lamina of the endocrine gland cell, the blue arrows indicate the basal lamina of the endothelium.