What is a fat cell?

Fat cell, also known as adipocyte or lipocyte, is the primary structure of adipose tissue or body fat. The fat cell is specialized in storing energy in the form of fat. There are two different types of adipose tissue in the body, consisting of two different types of fat cells. White adipose tissue consists of unilocular fat cells, while brown adipose tissue consists of multilocular cells. In addition to fat storage, fat cells also produce hormonal estrogen. Fat tissue is a type of connective tissue, a group that also includes cartilage, bones, blood, tendons and bonds.

Unorbocular or monovacuolar fat cell consists of a single drop of lipids surrounded by a layer of cytoplasm or intracellular liquid. The cell nucleus is flattened on the cell side. The lipid droplet in the unilocular fat cell is mainly made of triglycerides and cholesteyl ester. White adipose tissue accounts for about 20% of the weight of an average adult male and 25% of the weight of an adult woman.

Multilocular or plurivacolar fat cell differs from unilocular fat cells in many important ways. They have a polygonal shape rather than round and contain much more cytoplasms than white fat cells, with multiple lipid droplets throughout the cell. The core is round and off the center, but not on the edge of the cell like in white fat tissue. Multilocular fat cells are rich in mitochondria, cellular structures that produce energy and are responsible for the characteristic brown color of the cells. The brown fat tissue also contains more capillaries than white fat tissue because it has a greater oxygen requirement.

While white adipose tissue is responsible for storing energy and to maintain body heat through insulation, brown fat tissue is able to generate heat. Brown fat is abundant in infants and helps prevent hypothermia because infants are mood sensitive to cold than adults. The average adult has 30 million in the bodyRD of white fat cells, but only some adults have small brown fat deposits in the upper part and neck. The number of fat cells remains relatively constant in adults, even after a significant weight loss.