ISSN:
0003-276X
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Each of the bilateral nasal glands of Dipsosaurus is surrounded by a thin cartilagenous capsule. A short excretory duct leads to the vestibule of the nasal cavity. This duct connects with the branched principal secretory tubules that end in small terminal segments. Tall columnar cells line the principal secretory tubules, but mucous and tuft cells form the terminal elements. In salt-stressed animals the spaces between dark and light principal secretory cells are dilated. Potassium-dependent, ouabain sensitive, adenosine triphosphatase (Ernst, '72a) was localized within the lateral plications of the principal secretory cells and in the apical microvilli of the tuft cells. These observations are consistent with current concepts of ion transport in salt-secreting epithelia, and they suggest that the tuft cells, not found in avian salt glands, play a role in the unusual physiology (Templeton, '66) of the nasal glands in this reptile.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.1091800204