title: Electron microscopic study of novel threadlike structures on the surfaces of mammalian organs.
abstract: The ultrastructures of novel threadlike structures (NTSs) and corpuscles on the surfaces of internal organs of rats were investigated using electron microscopy. The samples were studied in situ by using a stereomicroscope and were taken for further morphological analysis. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed a bundle structure of threadlike tissue, which was composed of several 10-micro m-thick subducts. The surfaces of the corpuscles were rather coarse and fenestrated. The corpuscles had cucumber-like shapes with an average length of about 2 mm and a thickness of about 400 micro m. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images disclosed disordered collagen fibers, which formed the extracellular matrix of the threadlike tissue, and immune-function cells, like macrophages, mast cells, and eosinophils. Sinuses of various diameters, which were thought to be cross-sections of the lumens of the subducts, were observed in the TEM, cryo-SEM and focused-ion-beam SEM images. These SEM images were obtained for the first time to reveal the detailed structure of the NTSs that were only recently discovered.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Physics Laboratory, FPRD, School of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Cheon
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jung Sun
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Vyacheslav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ogay
authors.forename: Ki Woo
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dobberstein
authors.forename: Kwang-Sup
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.forename: Byung-Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000818:Animals; D020285:Cryoelectron Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000648:ultrastructure; D024022:Fibrillar Collagens / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007420:Intestine, Large / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission / Q000379:methods*; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D024022:Fibrillar Collagens