List of distinct cell types in the adult human body

• Epidermal keratinocyte (differentiating epidermal cell)
• Epidermal basal cell (stem cell)
• Keratinocyte of fingernails and toenails
• Nail bed basal cell (stem cell)
• Medullary hair shaft cell
• Cortical hair shaft cell
• Cuticular hair shaft cell
• Cuticular hair root sheath cell
• Hair root sheath cell of Huxley's layer
• Hair root sheath cell of Henle's layer
• External hair root sheath cell
• Hair matrix cell (stem cell)

• Surface epithelial cell of stratified squamous epithelium of cornea, tongue, oral cavity, esophagus, anal canal, distal urethra and vagina
• basal cell (stem cell) of epithelia of cornea, tongue, oral cavity, esophagus, anal canal, distal urethra and vagina
• Urinary epithelium cell (lining bladder and urinary ducts)

• Salivary gland mucous cell (polysaccharide-rich secretion)
• Salivary gland serous cell (glycoprotein enzyme-rich secretion)
• Von Ebner's gland cell in tongue (washes taste buds)
• Mammary gland cell (milk secretion)
• Lacrimal gland cell (tear secretion)
• Ceruminous gland cell in ear (wax secretion)
• Eccrine sweat gland dark cell (glycoprotein secretion)
• Eccrine sweat gland clear cell (small molecule secretion)
• Apocrine sweat gland cell (odoriferous secretion, sex-hormone sensitive)
• Gland of Moll cell in eyelid (specialized sweat gland)
• Sebaceous gland cell (lipid-rich sebum secretion)
• Bowman's gland cell in nose (washes olfactory epithelium)
• Brunner's gland cell in duodenum (enzymes and alkaline mucus)
• Seminal vesicle cell (secretes seminal fluid components, including fructose for swimming sperm)
• Prostate gland cell (secretes seminal fluid components)
• Bulbourethral gland cell (mucus secretion)
• Bartholin's gland cell (vaginal lubricant secretion)
• Gland of Littre cell (mucus secretion)
• Uterus endometrium cell (carbohydrate secretion)
• Isolated goblet cell of respiratory and digestive tracts (mucus secretion)
• Stomach lining mucous cell (mucus secretion)
• Gastric gland zymogenic cell (pepsinogen secretion)
• Gastric gland oxyntic cell (HCl secretion)
• Pancreatic acinar cell (bicarbonate and digestive enzyme secretion)
• Paneth cell of small intestine (lysozyme secretion)
• Type II pneumocyte of lung (surfactant secretion)
• Clara cell of lung

• Anterior pituitary cells
  • secreting growth hormone
  • secreting follicle-stimulating hormone
  • secreting luteinizing hormone
  • secreting prolactin
  • secreting adrenocorticotropic hormone
  • secreting thyroid-stimulating hormone
• Intermediate pituitary cell secreting melanocyte-stimulating hormone
• Posterior pituitary cells
  • secreting oxytocin
  • secreting vasopressin
• Gut and respiratory tract cells secreting serotonin
  • secreting endorphin
  • secreting somatostatin
  • secreting gastrin
  • secreting secretin
  • secreting cholecystokinin
  • secreting insulin
  • secreting glucagon
  • secreting bombesin
• Thyroid gland cells
  • secreting thyroid hormone
  • secreting calcitonin
• Parathyroid gland cell secreting parathyroid hormone
• Parathyroid gland oxyphil cell
• Adrenal gland cells
  • secreting epinephrine
  • secreting norepinephrine
  • secreting steroid hormones (mineralcorticoids and gluco corticoids)
• Leydig cell of testes secreting testosterone
• Theca interna cell of ovarian follicle secreting estrogen
• Corpus luteum cell of ruptured ovarian follicle secreting progesterone
• Kidney juxtaglomerular apparatus cell (renin secretion)
• Macula densa cell of kidney
• Peripolar cell of kidney
• Mesangial cell of kidney

• Intestinal brush border cell (with microvilli)
• Exocrine gland striated duct cell
• Gall bladder epithelial cell
• Kidney proximal tubule brush border cell
• Kidney distal tubule cell
• Ductulus efferens nonciliated cell
• Epididymal principal cell
• Epididymal basal cell

• Hepatocyte (liver cell)
• White fat cell
• Brown fat cell
• Liver lipocyte

• Type I pneumocyte (lining air space of lung)
• Pancreatic duct cell (centroacinar cell)
• Nonstriated duct cell (of sweat gland, salivary gland, mammary gland, etc.)
• Kidney glomerulus parietal cell
• Kidney glomerulus podocyte
• Loop of Henle thin segment cell (in kidney)
• Kidney collecting duct cell
• Duct cell (of seminal vesicle, prostate gland, etc.)

• Blood vessel and lymphatic vascular endothelial fenestrated cell
• Blood vessel and lymphatic vascular endothelial continuous cell
• Blood vessel and lymphatic vascular endothelial splenic cell
• Synovial cell (lining joint cavities, hyaluronic acid secretion)
• Serosal cell (lining peritoneal, pleural, and pericardial cavities)
• Squamous cell (lining perilymphatic space of ear)
• Squamous cell (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Columnar cell of endolymphatic sac with microvilli (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Columnar cell of endolymphatic sac without microvilli (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Dark cell (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Vestibular membrane cell (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Stria vascularis basal cell (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Stria vascularis marginal cell (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Cell of Claudius (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Cell of Boettcher (lining endolymphatic space of ear)
• Choroid plexus cell (cerebrospinal fluid secretion)
• Pia-arachnoid squamous cell
• Pigmented ciliary epithelium cell of eye
• Nonpigmented ciliary epithelium cell of eye
• Corneal endothelial cell

• Respiratory tract ciliated cell
• Oviduct ciliated cell (in female)
• Uterine endometrial ciliated cell (in female)
• Rete testis cilated cell (in male)
• Ductulus efferens ciliated cell (in male)
• Ciliated ependymal cell of central nervous system (lining brain cavities)

• Ameloblast epithelial cell (tooth enamel secretion)
• Planum semilunatum epithelial cell of vestibular apparatus of ear (proteoglycan secretion)
• Organ of Corti interdental epithelial cell (secreting tectorial membrane covering hair cells)
• Loose connective tissue fibroblasts
• Corneal fibroblasts
• Tendon fibroblasts
• Bone marrow reticular tissue fibroblasts
• Other nonepithelial fibroblasts
• Blood capillary pericyte
• Nucleus pulposus cell of intervertebral disc
• Cementoblast/cementocyte (tooth root bonelike cementum secretion)
• Odontoblast/odontocyte (tooth dentin secretion)
• Hyaline cartilage chondrocyte
• Fibrocartilage chondrocyte
• Elastic cartilage chondrocyte
• Osteoblast/osteocyte
• Osteoprogenitor cell (stem cell of osteoblasts)
• Hyalocyte of vitreous body of eye
• Stellate cell of perilymphatic space of ear

• Red skeletal muscle cell (slow)
• White skeletal muscle cell (fast)
• Intermediate skeletal muscle cell
• nuclear bag cell of Muscle spindle
• nuclear chain cell of Muscle spindle
• Satellite cell (stem cell)
• Ordinary heart muscle cell
• Nodal heart muscle cell
• Purkinje fiber cell
• Smooth muscle cell (various types)
• Myoepithelial cell of iris
• Myoepithelial cell of exocrine glands

• Erythrocyte (red blood cell)
• Megakaryocyte
• Monocyte
• Connective tissue macrophage (various types)
• Epidermal Langerhans cell
• Osteoclast (in bone)
• Dendritic cell (in lymphoid tissues)
• Microglial cell (in central nervous system)
• Neutrophil
• Eosinophil
• Basophil
• Mast cell
• Helper T cell
• Suppressor T cell
• Cytotoxic T cell
• B cells
• Natural killer cell
• Reticulocyte
• Stem cells and committed progenitors for the blood and immune system (various types)

Sensory Transducer Cells

• Photoreceptor rod cell of eye
• Photoreceptor blue-sensitive cone cell of eye
• Photoreceptor green-sensitive cone cell of eye
• Photoreceptor red-sensitive cone cell of eye
• Auditory inner hair cell of organ of Corti
• Auditory outer hair cell of organ of Corti
• Type I hair cell of vestibular apparatus of ear (acceleration and gravity)
• Type II hair cell of vestibular apparatus of ear (acceleration and gravity)
• Type I taste bud cell
• Olfactory neuron
• Basal cell of olfactory epithelium (stem cell for olfactory neurons)
• Type I carotid body cell (blood pH sensor)
• Type II carotid body cell (blood pH sensor)
• Merkel cell of epidermis (touch sensor)
• Touch-sensitive primary sensory neurons (various types)
• Cold-sensitive primary sensory neurons
• Heat-sensitive primary sensory neurons
• Pain-sensitive primary sensory neurons (various types)
• Proprioceptive primary sensory neurons (various types)

• Cholinergic neural cell (various types)
• Adrenergic neural cell (various types)
• Peptidergic neural cell (various types)

• Inner pillar cell of organ of Corti
• Outer pillar cell of organ of Corti
• Inner phalangeal cell of organ of Corti
• Outer phalangeal cell of organ of Corti
• Border cell of organ of Corti
• Hensen cell of organ of Corti
• Vestibular apparatus supporting cell
• Type I taste bud supporting cell
• /">Olfactory epithelium supporting cell
• Schwann cell
• Satellite cell (encapsulating peripheral nerve cell bodies)
• Enteric glial cell

• Neuron cells (large variety of types, still poorly classified)
• Astrocyte glial cell (various types)
• Oligodendrocyte glial cell

• Anterior lens epithelial cell
• Crystallin-containing lens fiber cell

• Melanocyte
• Retinal pigmented epithelial cell

• Oogonium/oocyte
• Spermatocyte
• Spermatogonium cell (stem cell for spermatocyte)

• Ovarian follicle cell
• Sertoli cell (in testis)
• Thymus epithelial cell

References

• Robert A. Freitas Jr., Nanomedicine, Volume I: Basic Capabilities, Landes Bioscience, Georgetown, TX, 1999

Referenced By