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Thyroid C cell
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The thyroid is made up mostly of follicles, round sacs that store material inside. Between those follicles, or tucked into their walls, lies a different set of cells: the C cells, also called parafollicular or clear cells.
Their origin is a curious one: they come from the neural crest, a group of embryonic cells that migrate through the body. And they make their own hormone, calcitonin, which is a polypeptide, that is, a short chain of amino acids. Its effect is the opposite of that of parathyroid hormone, which is made by the parathyroid glands.
Under the microscope they are recognizable because they are polyhedral, that is, many-sided, and they stain pale, with an oval nucleus set off to one side. They are distributed between the follicular cells and their basement membrane, the sheet they rest on, and they never reach the lumen, the hollow interior of the follicle. They live in the hallways between the follicles, never inside the storeroom.
In brief
The thyroid's C cells, also called parafollicular or clear cells, sit between the thyroid follicles or within their walls.
They come from the neural crest and secrete a polypeptide hormone, calcitonin, whose action is opposite to that of parathyroid hormone.
They are polyhedral and pale-staining, with an oval, eccentric nucleus, and lie between the follicular cells and their basement membrane without reaching the follicular lumen.
They live in the hallways between the follicles, never inside the storeroom.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHistology, Thyroid Gland, StatPearlsPublished
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