ISSN:
0003-276X
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
The stomach of the suckling echidna is lined by a tall columnar epithelium that is bounded basally by a delicate basement membrane. Adjacent cells are held in close apposition by tight junctions near the apex and by extensive implications of the remaining lateral surfaces. The basal cell surface is smooth and without apparent specialization. The lining epithelium is characterized by an abundance of mitochondria and a relative paucity of other organelles. Scattered argentaffin cells extend between the bases of the gastric lining cells and rest upon the luminal side of the basement membrane.Absorptive cells lining the small intestine of the suckling echidna exhibit in-vaginations of the apical plasma membrane which branch and anastomose, forming a dense network of tubules in the apical cytoplasm. Adjacent to this network is a series of small vacuoles of varying diameters which come into direct relation with a single, large, supranuclear vacuole. The vacuolar system contains both a fine granular substance and clusters of a flocculent amorphous material thought to be of a proteinaceous nature. The surrounding cytoplasm contains numerous profiles of smooth endoplasmic reticulum, several Golgi systems, and a relative abundance of mitochondria. Clusters of homogeneous droplets are found in the cytoplasm and in the intercellular space.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.1091720402
