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Fine structure of the axillary gland in the brown bullhead ( Ictalurus nebulosus )
Author(s) -
Whitear M.,
Zaccone G.,
Fasulo S.,
Licata A.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb03794.x
Subject(s) - biology , secretion , endoplasmic reticulum , golgi apparatus , microbiology and biotechnology , cytoplasm , vacuole , epidermis (zoology) , mucus , apocrine , secretory vesicle , organelle , anatomy , biochemistry , exocytosis , ecology
The axillary glands of Ictalurus are lobulated invaginations of the epidermis, opening at a pore between the pectoral spine and the cleithrum. Holocrine cells lining a false lumen form a viscous secretion. The secretory cells originate in the tenuous basal layer of the gland wall. Secretion is initiated by the formation of compound vesicles in cells that become very large and have complex cytoplasm of a varied appearance. Golgi systems are well developed and the perinuclear cytoplasm may contain many mitochondria and sacs of ribosomal endoplasmic reticulum; some tracts of cytoplasm are vesicular and contain free ribosomes. Some cells contain numerous large lysosomes, and some have extensive contents of fibrillar masses imperfectly separated by membranes, that recall the appearance of the mucous secretion of goblet cells. The secretory cells break down, releasing the degenerating organelles, including the nuclei, into the false lumen. Some structures are still recognizable in the secretion even after it has been expelled, but the main part of the formed secretion consists of the mucus‐like masses. Various leucocytes are found in the gland walls and embedded in the secretion. The fine structure differentiates the holocrine cells of the axillary gland from the club cells of the epidermis, and from the venom glands associated with the fin spines of catfishes. The function of the axillary gland secretion remains unknown.