This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Mast cell

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The mast cell is a fixed connective tissue cell that resembles the circulating blood basophil. The cytoplasm is almost entirely filled with large granules which take up basic dyes.

The granules contain a number of active substances:

  • histamine: increases vasodilatation and capillary permeability
  • heparin: anticoagulant
  • tryptase: activates complement
  • platelet activating factor: stimulates platelet degranulation
  • eosinophil / neutrophil chemotactic factors: stimulate chemotaxis of both cell types

In addition, mast cells can sythesize arachidonic acid derivatives. They are involved in atopy, type I hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis.


Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page