Kupffer cell, any of the stellate (star-shaped) cells in the linings of theliver sinusoids. The sinusoids are microscopicblood channels. The Kupffer cells are phagocytic,i.e., capable of ingestion of other cells and of foreign particles. They also storehemosiderin so that it is available for the production ofhemoglobin, the oxygen-transporting component of thered blood cell. Hemosiderin is an iron-containing pigment that is formed from the hemoglobin of red blood cells that have disintegrated.