pinacocyte

English

Etymology

From pinaco(derm) +‎ -cyte.

Noun

pinacocyte (plural pinacocytes)

1. (biology) Any of a group of flattened polygonal cells that together make up the pinacoderm in the dermal epithelium of sponges.
   • 1961, Contributions to Marine Science, University of Wales Marine Science Laboratories, page 3:

     Minchin (1896, 1898, 1908) also concluded that the pinacocytes could leave the dermal epithelium and become calcoblasts in both larva and adult sponge.

   • 1992, Martin Rowland, Biology, page 626:

     As you can see in Fig 27.7, sponges have only three types of cells in their bodies: pinacocytes (epithelial cells), choanocytes (collar cells) and amoebocytes (amoeboid cells).

   • 2012, T. L. Simpson, The Cell Biology of Sponges, page 570:

     Despite this, in some studies the origin of new pinacocytes is not clear or is disputed (Wilson and Penney, 1930; Borojevic and Lévi, 1965).

Derived terms

• basopinacocyte (cell which adheres to the surface to which the sponge attaches)
• endopinacocyte (cell on the inner surface of a canal of the sponge)
• exopinacocyte (cell on the exterior surface of the sponge)
• pinacocytic

Related terms

• amoebocyte
• choanocyte