Abstract
Light microscopy observations during the proestrous show the basal granulosa to be regularly arranged with a clear demarcation line between it and the underlying theca interna. Further, it was noticed that the granulosa has a smooth contour towards the antrum. On the other hand during the estrous period the demarcation line becomes strikingly irregular and the inner contour becomes wavy, striking a close resemblance to the intestinal ‘villi’.
Under the EM during the proestrous, the Golgi bodies appear well developed. In addition, coated vesicles, ribosomes and dense bodies are also discernible. But during estrous period the granulosa cells exhibit considerable accumulation of lipid droplets and peculiar complex bodies make their appearance. The endoplasmic reticulum becomes well delineated.
Light microscopy observations of the ependyma show that it is attached to the sub-ependymal region but there is no basement membrane and the cells bear tufts of cilia on the luminal side. During the estrous period, the cells are seen to contain darkly staining bodies, while in the ovariectomised rats, the ependyma is clearly seen to detach itself from the sub-ependymal region. The detached ependyma is more than one layered.
Under the EM, the ependyma of rats in proestrous were seen to contain a few dense bodies, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. A few neuronal processes extending into the lumen were detectable. During the estrous, there was increase in the number of vesicles and mito-chondria and the cytoplasm became finely granular. The striking difference was seen in the widening of the intercellular space below the zonula adherens and zonula occludentes and this space getting filled with processes of neuronal origin.
In the castrated rats, the cell got filled with fine filaments obliterating the detection of other structures.
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Chandrasekhar, K. Ultrastructural studies of the granulosa and the diencephalic ependyma in rats. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 82, 146–154 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03050528
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03050528