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Electron microscopy was used to examine the morphology of a putative endocrine gland, thejuxtaganglionar organ (JO), and its relation to the cerebral ganglia of the hermaphroditic opisthobranch gastropod Aplysia juliana. The JO is a well-vascularized, poorly innervated tissue of glandular cells-rich in mitochondria, lipids, ribosomes, and endoplasmic reticulum, with sparse cilia and membrane-limited secretory granules -within the connective tissue sheath just exterior to the neuronal soma in the dorsal and posterior portions of the cerebral ganglia. The cytology and organization of the JO supports its homology to the dorsal bodies of pulmonate gastropods, which are endocrine organs known to release one or more female gonadotropic factors.

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