Abstract
Three-dimensional architectures of acini, intercalated ducts and striated ducts of the parotid gland in goats were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The lumina of both acini and intercellular canaliculi were conspicuously spacious, lined by numerous and long microvilli and including many smooth spherical materials together with apocrine-like processes. Some acinar cells contained only a few smooth spherical granules. The luminal surface of the intercalated duct was lined by many short microvilli which lay in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the luminal surface at a regular interval. The cells of the intercalated duct had a few smooth spherical granules. The cells of the striated duct had pentagonal or hexagonal surfaces, largely characterized by two features, in that some surfaces were flat or folded and others had ovoidal or spheroidal protrusions of various sizes. The epithelial cells of the striated duct did not contain any granules as were seen in the acinar cells and the intercalated duct cells.
