Histological and histochemical investigations on the stomach of man, Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata yakui) and other animals. V. On the stomach of the pangolin (Manis pentadactyla Linne).

Abstract

The authors made histological and histochemical investigation on the stomach of the pangolin (Manis pentadactyla Linne) and obtained the following results.1. There are three kinds of glands, fundic, pyloric and body. glands in the stomach.2. The cavity of the stomach is covered over by a thick and strongly cornified, stratified squamous epithelium and all the glands open their pits into a lumen which is made under the epithelium mentioned above. This lumen is equal to the cavity of the stomach in the ordinary mammals. The lumen opens into the cavity of the stomach by a canal.3. The fundic glands gather in a big mass, which is situated at the fundus. It has a lumen inside and is lined by a tall columnar epithelium. All the pits open into this lumen.4. Many small glands are scattered in the body of the stomach.. They differ from the fundic and pyloric glands, and are tentatively named“ body glands”. They have also a lumen inside, where the pits open.5. The pyloric glands gather in many small masses and are scattered at the pyloric region. Their pits open into a narrow lumen which is connected with the cavity of the stomach by a canal.6. The gastric stratified squamous epithelium is reactive foracid and neutral polysaccharides but no glycogen.7. The epithelium of the pits in the three kinds of the glands. are strongly reactive to the PAS reaction. But this PAS positive reaction does not mean the existence of glycogen. The reaction for neutral polysaccharides clearly appears.8. Strong reactions for the acid polysaccharides are observed in the epithelium of the upper part of the pits in the fundic glands. but the reactions are weak in the epithelium of the body and pyloric glands and the lower part of the pits in the fundic glands. Theepithelium in the intermediate part of the pits of the fundic glands. is not reactive to alcian blue.9. The reaction for the neutral polysaccharides is observed in the glandular cells of the body and pyloric glands, while it is not observable in the mucous neck, chief and parietal cells.10. Weak reactions for the acid polysaccharides appear in the. glandular cells of the body and pyloric glands. The pyloric glands. surpass the body glands in the amount of alcian blue positive substance. It is doubtful whether the glandular cells of the fundic. glands contain acid polysaccharides or not.11. The epithelial and glandular cells contain more or less proteins.