ULTRASTRUCTURE OF INTESTINAL EPITHELIUM IN LARVA OF ALYTES OBSTETRICANS LAUR

The fine structure of the intestinal epithelium of the larval Alytes before the regressing changes of the intestine is described. The epithelium is not villous; it is mainly composed of absorbing cells the striated border of which decreases gradually in height during ontogenesis. Their endoplasmic reticulum is chiefly composed of vesicular components. The supranuclear cytoplasm contains numerous mitochondria and, near the nucleus, some Golgi complexes; moreover, this region abounds with autolytic vacuoles and dense, lamellar and myelin bodies. Not unfrequently, the infranuclear cytoplasm contains only vesicles of the reticulum. The mucous cells (goblet cells) are scanty; they own an important Golgi apparatus in the supranuclear region. The stem cells are located close to the basis of the epithelium; their nucleoplasmic ratio is high and free ribosomes are numerous. Some epithelial cells degenerate: the mitochondria are dilated and their matrix becomes clear, the striated border disappears. On the other hand, round cells containing large and osmiophilic bodies are observed at various levels of the epithelium. The presence of lytic inclusions in the absorbing cells, the mitochondrial alterations of degenerating cells, the origin of round and degenerating cells and of their osmiophilic bodies are discussed. © 1969 Springer-Verlag.