Not to be confused with Retinal. Retinol, also known as Vitamin A1, is a vitamin found in food and used as a dietary supplement. As a supplement it is used to treat and prevent vitamin A deficiency, especially that which is resulting in xerophthalmia.
Desmosomes are anchoring junctions â mechanical couplings scattered like rivets along the sides of adjacent cells to prevent their separation. On the cytoplasmic face of each plasma membrane is a thickening called a plaque.
A desmosome is a space that opens between two cells; intermediate filaments from each cytosol pass through the space to anchor the cells together. A tight junction is merely stitching that holds cells together, but it does not allow as much mechanical action as desmosomes do.