rete pegs

{{Short description|Cellular structures which help bind epithelium to underlying connective tissue}}

File:Normal Epidermis and Dermis with Intradermal Nevus 10x.JPG (purple) with lamina propria (underlying connective tissue) (pink) -- the epithelium exhibits rete pegs. Rete pegs protect the tissue from shearing.]]

Rete pegs (also known as rete processes or rete ridges) are the epithelial extensions that project into the underlying connective tissue in both skin and mucous membranes.

In the epithelium of the mouth, the attached gingiva exhibit rete pegs, while the sulcularItoiz, ME; Carranza, FA: The Gingiva. In Newman, MG; Takei, HH; Carranza, FA; editors: Carranza’s Clinical Periodontology, 9th Edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 2002. pages 23. and junctional epithelia do not.Page, RC; Schroeder, HE. "Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Periodontal Disease: A Summary of Current Work." Lab Invest 1976;34(3):235-249 Scar tissue lacks rete pegs and scars tend to shear off more easily than normal tissue as a result.{{cite book | last = Ira D. Papel | title = Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery | publisher = Thieme Medical Publishers | edition = Third | date = 2011 | location = USA | pages = 7 | language = English | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=k6tyROvsZY4C&q=Facial+Plastic+and+Reconstructive+Surgery+7 | isbn = 9781588905154}}

Also known as papillae, they are downward thickenings of the epidermis between the dermal papillae.