The article presents a modern view on functional activities of astrocytes during physiological processes, describes the morphological characteristics of the isolated subpopulations of astrocytic cells of the human brain: interlami-nar, protoplasmic, astrocytes with varicose projection (varicose astrocytes), polarized and fibrous. Interlaminar astrocytes of the I cortical layer of the hu-man brain characterize by long processes that penetrate up to IV cortical layer, and short processes that form the glia pial limitans. A characteristic feature of protoplasmic astrocytes is a wide highly branched network of short processes and domain organization. Polarized astrocytes and astrocytes with with vari-cose projection, which found in V–VI cortical layers of neocortex, have long processes that penetrate into the upper cortical layers of human brain, provid-ing interlaminar intercellular interconnection. The article also noted the cellular specificity of immunohistochemical markers used to visualize astrocytes. We noted the cellular specificity of immunohistochemical markers used for visualization of astrocytes.
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