From a human point of view fat or adipose tissue is nowadays often considered assuperfluous and undesired, especially considering the current \"emaciated\" beauty ideal of the Western world. This could ultimately lead to the provocative question: \"Do we really need adipose tissue for normal...

The adipose organ ( Fig. 1 ) of mammals is composed of two different tissues: white and brown adipose tissues. 13 In mammals these tissues are organized in distinct depots or are diffuse around or within other organs. \r\n The depots are subcutaneous (anterior and posterior in rats and mice)...

In humans, the development of white adipose tissue (WAT) occurs to a large extent postnatally and continues throughout life, in contrast to the development of brown adipose tissue (BAT) which takes place mainly before birth and disappears thereafter. The acquisition of fat cells appears to be an...

From a human point of view fat or adipose tissue is nowadays often considered assuperfluous and undesired, especially considering the current \"emaciated\" beauty ideal of the Western world. This could ultimately lead to the provocative question: \"Do we really need adipose tissue for normal...

The white adipose tissue is composed of spherical cells with a diameter ranging from 15 to 150 µm (Fig. 2) in aldehyde-fixed and paraffin or resin embedded specimens. \r\n This enormous variability in size is due to the ability of the cell to accumulate different amounts of lipids...

In humans, the development of white adipose tissue (WAT) occurs to a large extent postnatally and continues throughout life, in contrast to the development of brown adipose tissue (BAT) which takes place mainly before birth and disappears thereafter. The acquisition of fat cells appears to be an...

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a specialized form of adipose tissue whose function is opposite to classical white fat function. As a thermogenic tissue it is a site of energy dissipation in contrast to the energy storing white fat. Whereas white, i.e., storage fat is known throughout the whole...

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a specialized thermogenic adipose tissue with greatimportance for thermoregulation and cold defense of small mammals. As outlined in the previous chapter, the thermogenic function of BAT is intrinsically associated with the uncoupling of the mitochondrial...

Environmental factors such as ambient temperature and food availability can affect the survival and reproductive success of animals. This is especially important for small rodents with their increased metabolic rates compared with larger animals, and because of their increased heat loss due to...

The incessant demand for energy by tissues, especially the central nervous system (CNS), is a challenge that must be met for normal physiological functioning and behavior to occur. This is an especially difficult task for small rodents because of their increased energy expenditure as a result of...

Adipose tissue is a highly specialized organ dealing mainly with processes for storage and release of energy. The underlying metabolic routes of these processes are regulated by a complex network to meet the energy requirements of the body. In times of a positive energy balance, i.e., energy...

We are currently undergoing a revolution in our perspectives on the physiological role of white adipose tissue (WAT). Traditionally, white fat has been viewed primarily as a longterm energy storage organ. The deposition of triacylglycerol with twice the energy density of carbohydrate and with...

Human obesity is characterized by an excess of adipose tissue mass that has potential adverse health consequences and may finally result in a reduced quality of life and life expectancy. 1 In normal-weight subjects the adipose tissue organ constitutes between 10 and 20% of total body mass in...