cell-substrate junction
hemidesmosome
Wikipedia:Hemidesmosome
GO:0030056
fibrous organelle
A cell-substrate junction (attachment structure) found in epithelial cells that links intermediate filaments to extracellular matrices via transmembrane complexes. In vertebrates, hemidesmosomes mediate contact between the basal side of epithelial cells and the basal lamina. In C. elegans, hemidesmosomes connect epithelial cells to distinct extracellular matrices on both the apical and basal cell surfaces.
cellular_component
hemi-adherens junction
epidermal attachment structure
trans-epithelial attachment