A type of epithelial cell found in Bowman’s capsule. Podocytes possess major extensions resembling tentacles, each of which has numerous much finer fingerlike processes. These minor processes wrap around the blood capillaries of the glomerulus and are interwoven with those from other podocytes to form narrow slits. These slits (approximately 0.1 μ‎m wide) form part of the filtration apparatus of the Bowman’s capsule, permitting the passage of water and small molecules out of the blood plasma but acting as a barrier to blood cells and large molecules. Additional filtration is achieved by the walls of the glomerular capillaries, which have small openings (fenestrations), and the mesh of collagen fibres in the basement membrane between the capillaries and the podocytes.