Summary.Mitochondrial osmiophilic bodies were found in the goblet cells of the small intestine in a group of muscular dystrophic mice. They were not found in any littermate normal control mice.The dense bodies were uniformly round in shape but dense content. Mitochondria with such dense bodies were distributed throughout the goblet cells. Adjacent absorbing epithelial cells had none of such mitochondrial bodies. Though the site of formation of the mitochondrial bodies remains to be investigated, the Golgi complex did not appear to be involved in the transportation of the dense bodies. Digestion of sections with ether-chlorofolm(1:1) slightly decreased the density of the mitochondrial body. Ruthenium red staining was not visible over the dense bodies but trace of Ru was detected by X-ray microanalysis.X-ray microanalysis indicated very few, if any, amounts of P and Ca, and it was not probable that phospholipid and calcium binding protein were the main constitution of these dense bodies.Comparative studies of dystrophic muscle of humans and experimental animals suggested that some alteration in the level of lipid metabolism was involved in muscular dystrophy.In search for morphological evidence of a different level of lipid metabolism in dystrophic mice (MAKITA, KIWAKI and SANDBORN, 1973), the epithelial cells of the small intestine were surveyed in comparatively long lived and severely affected dystrophic mice. In the ileum of four out of seven mice, one or two round dense bodies were found in many mitochondria of goblet cells. Since such dense bodies were not found in the littermate normal control animals they drew our attention, though we could not find similar dense bodies in a parallel study of muscular dystrophic hamster, and subjected the dense bodies to cytochemical and X-ray microanalysis.These dense bodies might be an indication of abnormality in the transportation of lipid-rich substance.Furthermore they might be potential evidence for a relationship between the morphology of mitochondria and the transport of dense substance in goblet cells under specific conditions. Materials and MethodsSeven dystrophic mice of strain C57BL/6J-dydy and four normal controls were sacrificed at 177 days of age. Average body weights of the dystrophic and control mice were 12g and 26g, respectively.Under ether anaesthesia the animals were opened both in the thoracic and abdominal cavities and perfused with Ringer solution through the left cardiac ventricle, followed by injection of fixative consisting of 4%

The oviduct of the quail is well known as an organ of choice in the investigation of the secretion meckanism of both the protein and calcium involved in active egg formation.Furthermore, the facts that the quail matures sooner and is smaller in size than the hen are of advantage in arranging such tracer and resecting experiments as we are planning.Even from -the standpoint of comparative anatomy , this organ is interesting because the quail still maintains the nature of a wild bird and its egg shell has a specific colour pattern.Therefore, we required histological information on this organ but almost all the studies published were restricted to those of the hen (RICHARDSON7)) and no electron microscopic observations of the quail could be found. We then undertook a series of studies to examine the fine structure of the quail oviduct in comparison with that of the hen oviduct (MAKITA and NISHIDA6)) and the present report deals with the most proximal subdivision, the infundibulum. ObservationsThe quail oviduct convolves twice or twice and a half in the abdominal cavity and subdivided into five regions: Infundibulum, Magnum, Isthmus, Uterus and Vagina. The infundibulum is a membranous tube of 0.4 to 0.7cm in width and 1.5 to 2.5cm in length. The proximal structure opening is funnel-shaped and splits into fewer fringes than that of mammals.The wall of the tube consists of a mucous membrane, a muscular layer, and a serous coat. The mucous membrane is covered with fine granular projections visible to the unaided eyes and forms specific shaped folds in which a lymphocyte island sometimes appears. The epithelium is of the single, sometimes pseudostratified, columnar variety.Light microscopic observation shows the majority of the cells are ciliated and alternate irregularly with the secretory cells. The secretory cells increase in number at the border of the magnum, especially at the groove of the fold. Practically, they can be distinguished by a substance positive to PAS and alcian blue and the secretion granules stainable by Heidenhain's

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