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Micro World

How small is a human Purkinje cell?

A human Purkinje cell is about 250 µm tall.

What is measured: cerebellar neuron, dendritic tree height

Human Purkinje Cell (250 µm) drawn to scale beside a human egg cell (115 µm) and a grain of sand (500 µm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Human egg cell (115 µm), Human Purkinje Cell (250 µm) and Grain of sand (500 µm).

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How big is that, really?

  • About 2 would fit across a grain of sand
  • About 2.2× the width of a human egg cell
  • About 3.6× the width of a human hair
  • About 8 would fit across a raindrop
  • About 13× the width of a cloud droplet

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Facts about Human Purkinje Cell

Purkinje cells have one of the most elaborate dendritic trees in the brain, forming a flat fan-like branching pattern.

Source: Kandel: Principles of Neural Science; NIH: Cerebellar Purkinje Cells

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Human Purkinje Cell
Pine Pollen Grain70 µm0.28×
Human Adipocyte100 µm0.4×
Euplotes100 µm0.4×
Human Cardiomyocyte100 µm0.4×
Human Smooth Muscle Cell100 µm0.4×
Onion Epidermal Cell100 µm0.4×
Didinium150 µm0.6×
Coscinodiscus Diatom150 µm0.6×
Human Purkinje Cell250 µmthis page
Blepharisma japonicum300 µm1.2×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Human Purkinje Cell or Blepharisma japonicum?

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