Scanning electron microscopic study of the submandibular gland of the tufted capuchin monkey, Cebus Apella

ABSTRACT

HCl-collagenase digestion method was utilized in order to remove the collagen fiber bundles of acinar surfaces and the freeze-cracking method with liquid nitrogen was employed to examine the acinar surface of the Cebus apella submandibular gland. The results showed that the acini present oval shape surrounded by basal lamina and fine fibrilar structures. The fractured surface revealed clearly the lobuli, the interlobular spaces containing the collagen fiber bundles and the acini of submandibular gland. Each lobulus contains numerous acini which diameter ranges from 25 to 60 micrometers. In the cytoplasmic side was noted the presence of secretory granules which diameter ranges from 0.4 to 1.2nm. The structures of striated ductus and of thin capillaries are clearly observed.