Summary
The structure of the tapetum of the sheep's eye has been examined by transmission electron microscopy. It consists of regularly arranged layers of collagen fibrils, estimated from the hydroxyproline content to make up about 60% of the dry weight of the tissue. There are several hundred of these layers in the whole depth, a majority being orientated in the same direction. The collagen is associated with strands of microfibrillar material as well as with cells of both fibrocyte and smooth muscle types.
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We wish to thank Dr. N. R. Saunders and Mr. C. A. Evans for the eyes of sheep; Dr. Alan Boyde, Dr. K. C. Barnett, Dr. C. W. Bunn, Dr. H. J. Millodge and Professors George Gray, R. A. Weale and E.H. Thompson for helpful discussion; Mrs. Jane Astafiev for drawing Fig. 22 and Mr. Raymond Moss for skilled technical assistance.
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Bellairs, R., Harkness, M.L.R. & Harkness, R.D. The structure of the tapetum of the eye of the sheep. Cell Tissue Res. 157, 73–91 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00223231
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00223231