ULTRASTRUCTURE OF EXPERIMENTAL NERVE TUMOURS

Six malignant nerve tumours of rats induced by oral N-nitroso-N-methyl-urea were studied electron microscopically. The ultrastructure of these experimental tumours was, in spite of a marked anaplasia, essentially similar to the ultrastructure of human neurinomas; thus these tumours can be regarded as equivalent to human neurinomas. The findings support the opinion that neurinomas arise from Schwannian cells. Morphometric measurements in these anaplastic tumours revealed a high value for the volume of the granular endoplasmic reticulum, although the most poorly differentiated tumours showed clearly a decrease of the granular endoplasmic reticulum and concomitantly an increased volume of the mitochondria. © 1969 Springer-Verlag.