The present investigation of e pithelium of the human gallbladder elucidates the following:
1. The epithelium consists of a single layer of columnar cells. The columnar cells are prismatic with 5 to 7 angles and measure 25to 32μ, in height and 3.5 to 7.0μ in width.10 C. Togari and T. Okada
2. The surface of the epithelial c e l l has terminal bars and a cuticular border which shows a clearly visible striation.
3. The epithelial cell contains a single n ucleus which is oval, rarely round and situated somewhat basally. The nucleus has moderate chromatin content with one to three nucleoli. No mitotic figures are seen in them.
4. Most of the mitochondria are rod-shaped or granular, and few filamentous.
5. The Golgi apparatus appears generally as a loose network of fibrils in a supranuclear location. In transverse section this apparatus is made up of a loop in the central zone of the cell body.
6. The epithelium has secretory capacity of mucu s -like substance. This substance is found as vacuoles formed in the Golgi apparatus and discharged from the cuticular border passing through the apical zone.
7. The epithelium has another capacity of absorbing fat. Some fat of bile are absorbed through the cuticular border and develo p to fat droplets in combination with granular mitochondria. These droplets appear often in the apical and basal zones and in the basal intercellular space.
8. G lycogen cannot be found in the epithelium.
9. Among epithelial cells the goblet c ell is not found, but the cask-like and crayon-like cells are seen.
10. The cask-like cells appear scattered singly or in groups among epithelial cells. They are short and thick and show a clear cell body without containing a large amount of vacuoles or fat. These cells seem to be in high absorption of water from bile.
11. The crayon-like cells appear also scatte r ed singly or in groups; they are slender and stain far darkly in both the nucleus and cell body. They seem to be of lowered function resulted from compression by adjacent cells.
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