podocytes

Cells of the visceral epithelium that closely invest the network of glomerular capillaries in the kidney. Most of the cell body is not in contact with the basal lamina, but is separated from it by trabeculae that branch to give rise to club-shaped protrusions, known as pedicels, interdigitating with similar processes on adjacent cells. The complex interdigitation of these cells produces thin filtration slits that seem to be bridged by a layer of material (of unknown composition), that acts as a filter for large macromolecules.