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Hofbauer cells are oval eosinophilic histiocytes with granules and vacuoles found in the placenta, which are of mesenchymal origin, in mesoderm of the chorionic villus, particularly numerous in early pregnancy.
Contents
Etymology
They are named after J. Isfred Isidore Hofbauer, an American gynecologist. (1878-1961)
Function
They are believed to be a type of macrophage and are most likely involved in preventing the transmission of pathogens from the mother to the fetus (so-called vertical transmission). Although there are many studies concerning placental vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, there has been a lack of evidence on the possible roles of Hofbauer cells in these processes.
Histology
Under histology sections, Hofbauer cells have appeared with discernible amount of cytoplasm.
References
Hofbauer cell Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA