Effect of gonadectomy on the follicular cell and inclusions in mitochondria of rabbit thyroid gland.
Thyroid glands of male rabbits were studied 2, 4, and 6 weeks after gonadectomy. In the gonadectomized group of animals, at the end of 2 weeks the follicular cell did not present any significant change except for the reduction of the supranuclear portion of the cell. By the end of 4 weeks there was a marked decrease in the microvilli of the apical border, dense granules, colloid droplets, ribosomes, and ergastoplasmic sacs. The lateral and basal cell margins were less convoluted. These changes reached a peak by the end of 6 weeks. The mitochondria with the inclusions also showed an apparent decrease in incidence at the end of 4 weeks and were rarely encountered by the end of 6 weeks. The thyroid gland morphologially resembled a hypothroid state, indicating that gonadectomy depresses the function and, therefore, may affect the metabolic process controlled by the gland.
D000818:Animals; D002369:Castration; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009940:Organoids / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011817:Rabbits; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure