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Fine structure and innervation of the avian adrenal gland

I. Fine structure of adrenal chromaffin cells and ganglion cells

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Summary

The fine structure of the adrenal gland of 15 bird species was investigated by light-, fluorescence-, and electron microscopy as well as by histochemical methods.

1. Adrenal Chromaffin Cells. Cells producing adrenaline (A) and noradrenaline (NA) may be distinguished from each other with the electron microscope by the different structure of their granules. In all species investigated A-cells prevailed. Granules in A-cells of Corvidae, partly those of the other passeriform birds as well, resemble granules from the pituitary pars intermedia because of their incomplete membrane and the low electron density of their contents. A-cells of some passeriform birds have mitochondria with specifically arranged cristae. Large cytosomes and inclusions of lipofuscin pigment are to be found in the gulls Larus ridibundus and Larus argentatus. The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) show vacuoles filled with a colloid-like substance, which are surrounded by adrenal chromaffin cells.

2. Ganglion Cells. The adrenal gland of birds is rich in ganglion cells. Two types can be distinguished. “Large” ganglion cells resemble completely sympathetic nerve cells as described in many vertebrates. “Small” ganglion cells have a low nucleus-cytoplasm-ratio. Some of them include granules of various structure and quantity. Whether they represent transitional stages to adrenal cells, interneurons, P-neurons or a heterogeneous population remains to be clarified.

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  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Kiel, Germany

    K. Unsicker

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This work was supported by a grant from the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” (Un 34/1).

We acknowledge gratefully the help of Mrs. K. Dege in revising the manuscript.

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Unsicker, K. Fine structure and innervation of the avian adrenal gland. Z.Zellforsch 145, 389–416 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307164

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