Summary
Study of the digestive organs of the slug Arion empiricorum with the electron microscope has revealed cytoplasmic structures that we call intracisternal polycylinders (ICPC). They consist of cylinders of cytoplasm (about 550 Å in diameter) arranged in sheafs within cisterns of the endoplasmic reticulum. They appear in different cell types, being most common in the digestive epithelium of the midgut. Their morphology and apparent association with other cytoplasmic organelles such as mitochondria, peroxisomes, multivesicular and residual bodies suggests that the ICPC might be involved in exchange, transport and oxidation processes, contributing to the excretory function at a subcellular level.
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This work was carried out at the Department of Histology in the Faculty of Medicine of Bilbao, under the direction of the chairman of the Department, Prof. Dr. José M. Rivera Pomar. We express our thanks to Prof. Rivera for unconditional aid and advice, as well as to the technical staff of the Department.
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Moya, J., Rallo, A.M. Intracisternal polycylinders: A cytoplasmic structure in cells of the terrestrial slug Arion empiricorum férussac (Pulmonata, Stylommatophora). Cell Tissue Res. 159, 423–433 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221788
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221788