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Ultrastructural and morphometric study of the lung of the European salamander, Salamandra salamandra L.

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Summary

Ultrastructural and morphometric investigations were performed on the lung of the European salamander, Salamandra salamandra L. Folds of first and second order are covered with a ciliated epithelium containing goblet cells. The respiratory surface of the lung is lined by a single type of cell which, in amphibians, combines features of type I and type II alveolar cells of the mammalian lung. In the salamander the respiratory and ciliated epithelial cells as well as goblet cells possess electron dense and lucent vesicles in their cytoplasm as well as lamellar bodies. A small amount of surfactant, composed most probably of phospholipids and mucopolysaccharides, was observed covering the entire inner surface of the lung. Morphometric methods were used to determine the dimensions of the perinuclear region of pneumocytes, the thickness of the air-blood barrier and lung wall, and also the diameter of capillaries. The thickness of the respiratory air-blood barrier was found to be considerably higher than that of the corresponding barrier in mammals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Comparative Anatomy, Jagellonian University, Krakow, Poland

    Lucyna Goniakowska-Witalińska

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  1. Lucyna Goniakowska-Witalińska
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Additional information

This study was supported by grant no. 385/11 from the Polish Academy of Sciences

The author wishes to thank Dr. S.F. Perry for critical reading of the manuscript

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Goniakowska-Witalińska, L. Ultrastructural and morphometric study of the lung of the European salamander, Salamandra salamandra L.. Cell Tissue Res. 191, 343–356 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222429

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