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Electron microscopic observations of young rat liver

I. Distribution and structure of the myelin figures (lamellar bodies)

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Summary

Electron microscopic observations on normal liver tissue of four-day-old rats reveal the presence of numerous lamellar structures (lamellar bodies). These can be contained within parenchymal cells or in bile canaliculi, Disse's space, and in the lumen of blood sinusoids. Such bodies can also be found in Kupffer and endothelial cells.

The lamellar bodies within hepatic cells are generally seen in very intimate relation to glycogen particles and lipide droplets, but in some to agranular endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi membranes as well.

On the basis of this intimate relation to intracellular glycogen granules and lipide droplets, it is presumed that lamellar bodies represent a special intermediate stage in carbohydrate and lipide metabolism.

Discontinuities in the endothelial layer of intrahepatic sinusoids are described.

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  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Kiel, Deutschland

    Aldo Cecio

  2. Istituto Anatomico, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria dell'Università, Via Veterinaria 1, Napoli, Italia

    Aldo Cecio

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  1. Aldo Cecio
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This work was supported in part by a N.A.T.O. research fellowship of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Roma.

Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology (Dir.: Prof. A. de Girolamo), University of Naples, Naples, Italy.

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Cecio, A. Electron microscopic observations of young rat liver. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 62, 717–742 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00342180

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