On the existence in vivo of „Herring bodies“ and granules in the interstitial colloid of the neurohypophysis

Summary

The paper deals with the question, whether the Herring bodies and the granular structures formed by the so-called Gomori-substance in the neurohypophysis are artefacts or not. It is shown that the Gomori-substance and also its globular and granular structures are present in paraffin sections of the gland prepared according to the freezing-drying technique of Altmann-Gersh. All Gomori-substance is washed away, however, if the sections are treated with toluene and alcohol. If, on the contrary, the sections are treated with Bouin before the paraffin is removed, the Gomori-substance is precipitated and stands the treatment with alcohol. After staining with Gomori's haematoxylin and phloxine such preparations give the same picture of the Gomori-substance as common, wet-fixed Bouin preparations, provided the fixation has been carefully made. This strongly suggests that the classical opinion of the Gomori-substance as a granular matter which occasionally forms larger globulets (Herring bodies) truly reflects the conditions in the living tissue. Gersh and Tarr, who used the common technique when making their freezing-drying preparations, apparently lost the Gomori-substance when they treated the sections with alcohol. Their statement that the Herring bodies and other granular matter in the neurohypophyseal interstitia are artefacts is therefore to be abandoned.