Pericyte
Pericito
- Date
- 1873 · confidence high
- Place
- Paris, France
- Credited to
- Charles Marie Benjamin Rouget
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
A mural cell that wraps around the outside of blood capillaries, helping to regulate blood flow, maintain the blood-brain barrier and stabilise the endothelium. Originally described as the 'Rouget cell' before its current name was adopted.
Described by Charles Rouget in 1873; the name 'pericyte' was proposed later by Karl W. Zimmermann in 1923.
What it led to
- understanding of capillary blood-flow regulation
- research on the blood-brain barrier and neurovascular disease
- identification of the neurovascular unit (endothelium, astrocytes, pericytes, neurons)