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Submicroscopic morphology of granular vesicles in sympathetic nerves of rat pineal body

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Summary

In the rat pineal body sympathetic nerve endings are characterized by numerous agranular and granular vesicles. The latter mainly include vesicles of about 450 Å diameter, each of which is bounded by a trilaminar membrane of about 75 Å total thickness. The cores of these granular vesicles appear structurally similar to the bounding membranes and are formed by a less dense, globular or vacuolar component around which a more dense component is distributed. The relative distributions of these two structural elements result in a variety of submicroscopic configurations which suggest a morphological continuum that may be related to the cyclical uptake, storage and release of biogenic amines. A tripartite classification of granular vesicles, such as proposed previously, is not supported by these data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Northwestern University Medical School, 60611, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    William Bondareff

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  1. William Bondareff
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This investigation was supported by United States Public Health Service Research Grants NB 05175-01 and AM-0699802. — The capable technical assistance of Mrs. Caroline Wilner is gratefully acknowledged.

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Bondareff, W. Submicroscopic morphology of granular vesicles in sympathetic nerves of rat pineal body. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 67, 211–218 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344470

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344470

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