Quick Facts
The basement membrane is a thin sheet of amorphous extracellular material upon which the basal surfaces of epithelial cells rest; other cells associated with basement membranes are muscle cells, Schwann cells, and fat cells. The membrane is interposed between the cellular elements and the underlying connective tissue. It usually comprises two layers, the basal lamina and the reticular lamina, and is composed of Type IV collagen (which is unique to basement membranes), laminin, fibronectin, and heparan sulfate proteoglycans (Dorland, 2011).
Structure and/or Key Features
The olfactory mucosa is composed of the olfactory epithelium and the lamina propria. The basement membrane essentially separates the lamina propria from the olfactory epithelium. The basal (stem) cells of the olfactory epithelium, through which olfactory cell regenerate, are situated along the basement membrane.
Anatomical Relations
The basement membrane essentially separates the lamina propria from the olfactory epithelium.
Function
The principal function of a basement membrane is to provide structural support for the epithelium. In this case, it is the olfactory epithelium.
References
Dorland, W. (2011) Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 32nd edn. Philadelphia, USA: Elsevier Saunders.
