Ultrastructure of the epidermal maxilla II-gland of Scutigera coleoptrata (Chilopoda, Notostigmophora) and the ground pattern of epidermal gland organs in Myriapoda.
The epidermal maxilla II-gland of Scutigera coleoptrata was investigated using light and electron microscopy. The glandular epithelium surrounds a spacious integumental cavity at the base of the maxilla II. The gland is formed as a compound gland organ that is composed of thousands of epidermal gland units. Each of them consists of four different cell types: a secretory cell, an accessory or intermediary cell, and a proximal and distal canal cell. The intermediary and the two canal cells form a conducting canal. Only in the most distal part of the intermediary cell is the canal lined by a cuticle. In the area of the two canal cells, the conducting canal is completely covered by a cuticle. The canal passes through the cuticle and opens into the spacious integumental cavity, which serves as a secretion reservoir. The structural organization of the epidermal maxilla II-gland was compared to that of other compound epidermal gland organs in Chilopoda and Diplopoda. All these glandular organs in Myriapoda share the same ground pattern.
Hilken
Gero
G
Central Animal Laboratory, University Duisburg-Essen Medical School, D-45122 Essen, Germany. gero.hilken@uni-essen.de
Rosenberg
Jörg
J
Brockmann
Claudia
C
D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods; D004817:Epidermis / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005088:Exocrine Glands / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008334:Mandible / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D015388:Organelles / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure