'''Hyalocytes''', also known as '''vitreous cells''', are cells of the vitreous body, which is the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina of the eye. Hyalocytes occur in the peripheral part of the vitreous body, and may produce hyaluronic acid and collagen fibrils,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Sommer | first1 = F | last2 = Brandl | first2 = F | last3 = Weiser | first3 = B | last4 = Tesmar | first4 = J | last5 = Blunk | first5 = T | last6 = Göpferich | first6 = A | date = May 2009 | title = FACS as useful tool to study distinct hyalocyte populations | journal = Exp Eye Res. | volume = 88 | issue = 5| pages = 995–9 | doi=10.1016/j.exer.2008.11.026| pmid = 19073178 }}</ref><ref name=Paulsen /> Hyalocytes are star-shaped (stellate) cells with oval nuclei.<ref name=Paulsen>{{cite book|last=Paulsen|first=Douglas F.|title=Histology and cell biology : examination and board review|chapter=Chapter 24. Sense Organs|year=2010|publisher=Appleton & Lange|location=Stamford, Conn.|isbn=978-0071476652|edition=5th}}</ref>
The development of the vitreous is organized into three stages: primary, secondary, and tertiary.<ref name=Vaughan /> During the primary stage, which occurs from 3–6 weeks, the basic components of the vitreous begin to form from the mesenchyme embryonic cell layer.<ref name=Vaughan /> Hyalocytes likely develop from the vascular primary vitreous.<ref name=Vaughan>{{cite book|last=Cunningham|first=Emmett T.|author2=Paul Riordan-Eva|title=Vaughan & Asbury's general ophthalmology.|chapter=Chapter 1. Anatomy & Embryology of the Eye|year=2011|publisher=McGraw-Hill Medical|location=New York|isbn=978-0071634205|chapter-url=http://accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=720|edition=18th}}</ref>
== See also == List of distinct cell types in the adult human body
==References== <references/>
Category:Eye
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