title: The general architecture of sensory neuroepithelia.
abstract: All neuroepithelia are sheets of cells lining an internal or external surface of the body and resting on a basement membrane. They consist of at least two kinds of cell, receptor cells and sustentacular (supporting) cells. Some contain undifferentiated precursor cells and senescent or degenerating cells. The potential for plasticity and regeneration in different sensory neuroepithelia varies widely according to their origins and structure in any individual animal and according to the species in which they occur. Four sensory neuroepithelia are described as examples of the range of construction, complexity, and life history.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Palay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004848:Epithelium / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000294:innervation; D009420:Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009831:Olfactory Mucosa / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000294:innervation; D009925:Organ of Corti / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012160:Retina / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000033:anatomy & histology