cisterna

1. Anatomy. A fluid-containing sac or cavity in the body of an organism. Also called reservoir.
2. Cytology. One of the saclike vesicles that comprise the endoplasmic reticulum.

[Latin, cistern. See cistern.]

1. A cavity or enclosed space serving as a reservoir, especially for chyle, lymph, or cerebrospinal fluid.
2. An ultramicroscopic space or channel occurring between the membranes of the flattened sacs of the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi complex, or the two membranes of the nuclear envelope.

Pl. cisternae; cistern.

• c. cerebellomedullaris, c. magna — the enlarged subarachnoid space between the caudal surface of the cerebellum and the dorsal surface of the medulla oblongata.
• c. chyli — the dilated portion of the thoracic duct at its origin in the lumbar region. Called also receptaculum chyli.
• c. magna — see cisterna cerebellomedullaris (above).

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a sac or cavity containing fluid especially lymph or cerebrospinal fluid
  Synonym: cistern

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Golgi apparatus. (Discuss)

For other uses, see Cisterna (disambiguation).

A cisterna (plural cisternae) comprises a flattened membrane disk that makes up the Golgi apparatus. A typical Golgi has anywhere from 3 to 7 cisternae stacked upon each other like a stack of dinner plates, but there are usually around 6. The cisternae carry Golgi enzymes to help or to modify cargo proteins traveling through them destined for other parts of the cell.

The cisternae also carry structural proteins important for its maintenance as a flattened membrane and its stacking upon each other.

The earliest cisternae are called the cis-cisternae, followed by the medial cisternae, then the trans-cisternae (as they move away from the endoplasmic reticulum).

The formation of new cisternae is often called the cis-Golgi network and at the end of the Golgi where transport to other parts of the cell occurs is called the trans-Golgi network. Both are thought to be specialized cisternae leading in and out of the Golgi apparatus.

Cisternae may also refer to flattened regions of the rough endoplasmic reticulum.

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