Summary
Normal and TSH-stimulated thyroid glands of White Leghorn domestic fowl, ranging in age from 19 days of incubation to 2 years were studied with the electron microscope.
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1)
Intracellular droplets of high and low electron densities are enclosed by a limiting membrane, 70–90 Å thick, which is composed of two dense and a less dense layers. This structure corresponds to a unit membrane of Robertson. The other cytoplasmic membrane systems including endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and plasma membrane have a similar structure.
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2)
Highly dense granules are considered to form in the Golgi field, and lessdense ones (being similar to the follicular colloid) are probably derived from the endoplasmic reticulum. However, some less-dense droplets may arise from Golgi vacuoles.
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3)
Some of the less-dense droplets might be secreted into the follicular lumen through an opening occuring at a junction between the plasma membrane and the limiting membrane of the droplet. During 1–4 hours after injection of TSH, one can sometimes find a slight apical elevation of the cytoplasm including a large droplet of low density. This droplet might be one soon to be released into the follicular lumen by opening of the apical cytoplasm. Some cellular processes containing numerous droplets of low density and rough-surfaced endoplasmic sacs are seen especially after TSH administration. A holocrine type of secretion might also occur under the same experimental conditions.
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4)
The fine structure of the pericapillary and interfollicular regions of this gland was described, and a direct secretion of the contents of the less-dense droplets and of the rough-surfaced endoplasmic sacs into the pericapillary or interfollicular space from the basal part of the follicular cell are suggested.
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5)
A central flagellum with a basal corpuscle is observed in some follicular cells of young and adult domestic fowl.
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Fujita, H. Electron microscopic studies on the thyroid gland of domestic fowl, with special reference to the mode of secretion and the occurrence of a central flagellum in the follicular cell. Z. Zellforsch. 60, 615–632 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331187
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331187