Summary
Mucous secretory activity of the human gallbladder epithelium was investigated by light and electron microscopy and with histochemical techniques.
There are two types of granules in the supranuclear region of the epithelial cells. The one low in density contains a fine filamentous material and gives a strongly positive silver methenamine reaction. The other is dense and only faintly positive. The granules of the former are considered to be mucous secretory granules and the granules of the latter may be lysosomes. PAS positive granules correspond presumably to both types of granules mentioned above.
The mucous secretory granules are considered to be synthesized by the Golgi apparatus and the granular endoplasmic reticulum as has been confirmed in other mucous secretory cells. Their content is released from the cell by reverse pinocytosis.
Typical goblet cells occur frequently in the fetal epithelium, but cannot be observed in the adult specimens.
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The author is grateful to Prof. E. Yamada, Department of Anatomy, University of Tokyo, for his advice and to Prof. T. Yamamoto, Department of Anatomy, Kyushu University, for his critical reading of the manuscript.
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Koga, A. Electron microscopic observations on the mucous secretory activity of the human gallbladder epithelium. Z.Zellforsch 139, 463–471 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02028388
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02028388