desmosome
noun
des·mo·some ˈdez-mə-ˌsōm 
: a specialized structure of the cell membrane especially of an epithelial cell that serves as a zone of adhesion to anchor contiguous cells together
desmosomal
ˈdez-mə-ˌsō-məl
adjective 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The fruit acid penetrates into the layers of dead skin cells and breaks down the desmosomes which hold the layers together. 
Sam Escobar, Good Housekeeping, 27 Apr. 2016 These AHAs eat away and separate what are called desmosomes. Self, Glamour, 3 July 2017 Desmosomes are the fibers that bind the dead skin cells together. Self, Glamour, 3 July 2017
Sam Escobar, Good Housekeeping, 27 Apr. 2016 These AHAs eat away and separate what are called desmosomes. Self, Glamour, 3 July 2017 Desmosomes are the fibers that bind the dead skin cells together. Self, Glamour, 3 July 2017 Word History
Etymology
borrowed from German Desmosom, from Greek desmós "something that ties or attaches, (in plural) bonds, chain" + German -o- -o- + -som -some entry 3 — more at desmid
Note: The term was introduced by the Austrian anatomist and histologist Josef R. Schaffer (1861-1939) in Vorlesungen über Histologie und Histogenese nebst Bemerkungen über Histotechnik und das Mikroskop (Leipzig, 1920), p. 76.
First Known Use
circa 1932, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
desmosome
noun
des·mo·some ˈdez-mə-ˌsōm
: a specialized local thickening of the plasma membrane of an epithelial cell that serves to anchor contiguous cells together