Rete pegs: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Cellular structures which help bind epithelium to underlying connective tissue}}
[[File:Normal Epidermis and Dermis with Intradermal Nevus 10x.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Skin [[epithelium]] (purple) with [[lamina propria|lamina propria (underlying connective tissue)]] (pink) -- the epithelium exhibits '''rete pegs'''. Rete pegs protect the tissue from shearing.<ref name=rPegs/>]]

'''Rete pegs''' (oralso known as '''rete processes,''' or '''rete ridges''') are the [[Epithelium|epithelial]] extensions that project into the underlying connective tissue in both [[epidermis|skin]] and [[mucous membrane]]s.

In the epithelium of the mouth, the [[gingiva|attached gingiva]] exhibit rete pegs, while the [[sulcular epithelium|sulcular]]<ref name="Itoiz">Itoiz, ME; Carranza, FA: The Gingiva. In Newman, MG; Takei, HH; Carranza, FA; editors: ''Carranza’s Clinical Periodontology'', 9th Edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 2002. pages 23.</ref> and [[junctional epithelium|junctional epithelia]] do not.<ref name="P&S">Page, RC; Schroeder, HE. "Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Periodontal Disease: A Summary of Current Work." ''Lab Invest'' 1976;34(3):235-249</ref> [[Scar|Scar tissue]] lacks rete pegs and through this scars tend to shear off more easily than normal tissue as a result.<ref name=rPegs>{{cite book | last = Ira D. Papel | title = Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery | publisher = Thieme Medical Publishers | edition = Third edition | date = 2011 | location = USA | pages = 7 | language = English | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=k6tyROvsZY4C&printsec=frontcover&dqq=Facial+Plastic+and+Reconstructive+Surgery+7&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibyMPz2rzTAhWlCsAKHSdFBxMQ6AEIKDAB#v=onepage&q&f=false | isbn = 9781588905154}}</ref>

Also known as ''papillae'', they are downward thickenings of the [[epidermis]] between the [[dermal papillae]].