A cell-substrate junction (attachment structure) found in epithelial cells that links intermediate filaments to extracellular matrices via transmembrane complexes. In vertebrates, hemidesmosomes mediate contact between the basal side of epithelial cells and the basal lamina. In C. elegans, hemidesmosomes connect epithelial cells to distinct extracellular matrices on both the apical and basal cell surfaces. [ https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=bn%3A0815316208 GOC:kmv http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20205195 ]