抄録
Cells from the distal portion of the nephron tubule of the crayfish may be divided for purposes of description into three different regions, i.e., basal, intermediate and apical. Light microscope preparations of Bouin's fixed and hematoxylin stained material show the basal portion of the cells deeply stained and to contain fiberous like structures, oriented perpendicular to, and in contact with, the basement membrane. This method displays the intermediate and apical portions of the cells as relatively free of distinctive structure. Champy's and Regaud's methods reveal the filamentous oriented mitochondria chiefly present in the basal zone with few, if any, in the apical zone of the cells.
Electron micrographs demonstrate in the basal zone of the cell a series of perpendicularly arranged lamellae extending from the region of the basement membrane to the intermediate zone of the cell. These lamellae are thought to be formed by the intricate infolding of the plasma membrane at the base of the cell. This arrangement gives rise in the spaces between the lamellae to a series of elongate cytoplasmic compartments which contain rows of short rod or filamentous mitochondria.
No specific correlation of function in these cells with the presence of lamellae in their basal zone can be made, other than to state that, physiological processes are probably enhanced by the increased membrane area provided by these structures.
