Adipose Tissue (redirected from White fat)

adipose tissue (ăd`əpōs'): see connective tissue.

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adipose tissue

 or fatty tissue

Connective tissue consisting mainly of fat cells, specialized to synthesize and contain large globules of fat, within a structural network of fibres. It is found mainly under the skin but also in deposits between the muscles, in the intestines and in their membrane folds, around the heart, and elsewhere. The fat stored in this tissue comes from dietary fats or is produced in the body. It acts as a fuel reserve for times of starvation or great exertion, helps conserve body heat, and forms pads between organs.

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adipose tissue [′ad·ə‚pōs ′tish·ü]

(histology)

A type of connective tissue specialized for lipid storage.

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Adipose Tissue 

a type of connective tissue in animals, formed from the mesenchyma and consisting of fat cells.

A fat cell, whose specific function is fat accumulation and metabolism, is almost entirely filled with a fat drop surrounded by a ring of cytoplasm. The nucleus is pushed into the periphery. In vertebrates, adipose tissue is found mostly under the skin (subcutaneous), in the omentum, and between organs, forming a soft, elastic padding. The main physiological functions of adipose tissue are to serve as an energy depot (the amount of fat decreases in the cells during starvation and increases when nourishment is increased) and to prevent the body from losing heat. In aquatic mammals living in the cold waters of the arctic and antarctic, the layer of subcutaneous adipose tissue is very thick (as much as 50 cm in some whales). Excessive development of adipose tissue in man leads to obesity.