Terminal bar (histology)
Terminal bar is a histology term for the cluster of junctions that connect neighboring epithelial cells on their lateral sides. It includes tight junctions (zonula occludens), adherens junctions (zonula adherens), desmosomes (macula adherens), and gap junctions (macula communicans). Under light microscopy, this region looks like a small bar or spot at the cell border where the junctions appear merged and individual structures can’t be resolved; electron microscopy can reveal the separate components. The terminal bar sits on the lateral surface where the cell’s side meets the apical region. It is different from the terminal web, which is an actin-rich network beneath microvilli on some epithelial cells.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:13 (CET).