| Basement membrane: | the PAS positive layer , visible with the light microscope (in skin = the basal lamina and the reticular lamina) |
| Basal lamina: | lamina lucida plus lamina densa; composed mainly of type IV collagen, laminin (a glycoprotein) and proteoglycan |
| Anchoring filaments: | attach hemidesmosome to lamina densa (epiligrin, laminin 5) |
anchoring fibrils:
| • | composed of type VII collagen |
| • | play a role in maintaining adherence between the epidermis and dermis |
| • | stretch from lamina densa to anchoring plaques in papillary dermis |
| • | (both the lamina densa and anchoring plaques contain type IV collagen) |
| • | mnemonic = type VII connects type IV to type IV |
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