THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE NORMAL CONJUNCTIVAL EPITHELIUM OF THE GUINEA PIG: IV. The Palpebral and the Perimarginal Zones

Abstract

The ultrastructure of the palpebral and perimarginal zones is described and compared to that of the other zones of the conjunctival epithelium of the guinea pig. The palpebral zone was characterized by frequently occurring goblet cells, the structure and function of which are discussed. The transition in the perimarginal zone from a four-layered epithelium with cylindrical superficial cells in the palpebral zone to a multilayered, squamous epithelium towards the lid margin is shown.

Morphologic Alterations of the Palpebral Conjunctival Epithelium in a Dry Eye Model

“…This configuration is in agreement with what has been reported for the the mongolian gerbil, human and rabbit 15 but contrary to the guinea pig where goblet cells have been reported to be arranged singly 18 and to the Sprague-Dawley rat, where goblet cells are found only in cluster 19 .…”

“…6 Both the superior and inferior C57BL/6 mouse palpebral conjunctiva had an average of 3 cell layers. This finding agrees with what has been documented for the human 6 , rabbit 15, 16 , gerbil 17 and guinea pig 18 but contrasts with the 5–8 layers of cells reported for the Sprague-Dawley rat 19, 20 .…”

“…A few studies are available providing ultrastructural information on conjunctival goblet cells in different species e.g. the human 27–29 , rabbit 15, 16 , rat 17, 20, 29–31 and guinea pig 18, 32, 33 . The goblet cells were reported to be on average 11–15 μm (rabbit) 15, 16 and 15–20 μm (human) 34 in height and rich in secretory granules.…”

Investigations on the conjunctival goblet cells and the characteristics of the glands associated with the eye in chinchillas (Chinchilla Laniger)

“…Because of its histological appearance, the conjunctiva was divided into four zones. Several authors graded the conjunctiva of guinea pigs, 13–18 rats, 19 and mice 20 in a different way to ours; however, in the study by Gasser et al. , 9 the zoning system in guinea pigs was reported similar to ours.…”

The Ultrastructure of the Normal Conjunctival Epithelium of the Guinea Pig

“…1 and 2) that will be described in four subsequent papers: the perilimbal zone (PLZ) in the present paper I (the deeper layers), and in paper I 1 (the superficial layer) (Latkovic & Nilsson 1979a); the bulbar zone (BZ), the zone of the fornix (FZ) and the supranodular zone (SNZ) (overlying the lymphoid nodule) in paper I11 (Latkovic 1979a); the palpebral zone (PZ) and the perimarginal zone (PMZ) in paper IV (Latkovic 1979b). The limbal epithelium is not included in the present study, since it does not belong to the conjunctiva proper.…”