Tags: Anatomical Structure.
Pericytes are contractile cells that wrap around the endothelial cells of capillaries and venules throughout the body. Also known as Rouget cells or mural cells pericytes are embedded in basement membrane where they communicate with endothelial cells of the body’s smallest blood vessels by means of both direct physical contact and paracrine signaling. In the brain pericytes help sustain the blood–brain barrier as well as several other homeostatic and hemostatic functions of the brain.
