Pericytes are cells of mesodermal origin that envelop microvessels. There is now a rapidly
growing inventory of research data characterizing pericytes in the nerve, muscle and
connective tissues of many organs, in vivo and in vitro, ultrastructurally, physiologically, and
biochemicalty. While their roles have not yet been defined with certainly, a review of
pericytes is warranted at this time due to the size of the extant literature, which is becoming
awkward for each author to review adequately, and the diversity of the disciplines in which …