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Electron microscopic study on the innervation of the pancreas of the domestic fowl

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Summary

The innervation of the pancreas of the domestic fowl was studied electron microscopically. The extrapancreatic nerve is composed mostly of unmyelinated nerve fibers with a smaller component of myelinated nerve fibers. The latter are not found in the parenchyma. The pancreas contains ganglion cells in the interlobular connective tissue. The unmyelinated nerve fibers branch off along blood vessels. Their synaptic terminals contact with the exocrine and endocrine tissues. The synaptic terminals can be divided into four types based on a combination of three kinds of synaptic vesicles. Type I synaptic terminals contain only small clear vesicles about 600 Å in diameter. Type II terminals are characterized by small clear and large dense core vesicles 1,000 Å in diameter. Type III terminals contain small clear vesicles and small dense core vesicles 500 Å in diameter. Type IV terminals are characterized by small and large dense core vesicles. The exocrine tissue receives a richer nervous supply than the endocrine tissue. Type II and IV terminals are distributed in the acinus, and they contact A and D cells of the islets. B cells and pancreatic ducts are supplied mainly by Type II terminals, the blood vessels by Type IV terminals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

    Tohru Watanabe & Mikio Yasuda

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  1. Tohru Watanabe
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  2. Mikio Yasuda
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This work was supported by a scientific research grant (No. 144017) and (No. 136031) from the Ministry of Education of Japan to Prof. M. Yasuda

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Watanabe, T., Yasuda, M. Electron microscopic study on the innervation of the pancreas of the domestic fowl. Cell Tissue Res. 180, 453–465 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00220168

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