Summary
The pineal glands of Wistar rats were fixed in glutaraldehyde and prepared by the freeze-etching technique. With regard to the form and internal structure of pineal cells this technique has revealed nothing essentially new. Synaptic ribbons are very rarely found. A regular diagonal arrangement of membrane attached particles between the Schwann cell and the axon of an autonomic nerve terminal was observed.
Three types of contact areas between pineal cells are described. In the first two types, which occur more frequently, the diameter of the area varied from 1000 to 2500 Å, with irregularly aggregated membrane associated particles. The third type, larger but less frequently found, has a surface area of 0.4 μm2 and much more regularly distributed membrane associated particles (ø 88 Å). These contact areas can be considered to be electric coupling areas between pineal cells.
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Krstić, R. Ultrastructure of rat pineal gland after preparation by Freeze-etching technique. Cell Tissue Res. 148, 371–379 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00224264
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00224264