CHAPTER 7 - ADIPOSE TISSUE

Abstract

Publisher Summary The adipose tissue is of widespread distribution in the body; it is found in the superficial fascia below the skin, in the axilla, in the bony orbit, in the mesenteries and omentum, around the kidneys, and in the marrow cavities of long bones. This chapter discusses two separate types of the adipose tissue: (1) white or yellow fat and (2) brown or multilocular fat. The white adipose tissue comprises the bulk of the body's fat reserves, while the brown adipose fat is much more restricted in its distribution. The white adipose tissue is characteristically composed of large cells that are basically spherical, but, because of their close packing, they often assume a polyhedral appearance when seen in sections. The bulk of each cell is occupied by a single large lipid droplet that limits the cytoplasm and the nucleus to a small area at the circumference of the fat drop where they form a thin peripheral rim. The brown adipose tissue is of a much darker color than the typical white or yellow fat. It tends to occur in smaller cells in which there are many lipid droplets that never seem to coalesce into a single droplet.