Desmosomes. Coloured transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of a section through healthy human skin revealing desmosomes (macula adherens). Desmosomes (black areas) provide points of cohesion and act as anchorage points for the cell's cytoskeleton at the intercellular junctions between epithelial cells. Each one consists of dense material (black) lying between the cell membranes (orange) of adjacent cells. There is other less dense material (grainy black area) associated with them. The dense areas are keratin fibrils, consisting of cytokeratin filaments (dots). Magnification: x38,000 at 6x7cm size. x126,270 at 7.5x9.5"~LANDSCAPE"