A spot-like junction between cells that acts like a tiny rivet, holding skin and heart muscle cells tightly together so they don't tear apart.
From Greek 'desmos' (bond, link) and 'soma' (body). Coined in the early 1900s when scientists discovered these special connecting points under microscopes and needed a name for them.
Your skin doesn't fall apart when you stretch or move because desmosomes are constantly doing invisible work—they're like biological spot-welds that make tissues bulletproof. People with autoimmune diseases sometimes attack their own desmosomes, which is why their skin blisters so easily.
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