The Golgi Apparatus

Abstract

IN his presidential address to the Section of Zoology and Entomology of the thirty-first Indian Science Congress at Delhi, Prof. Vishwa Nath gave a general account of his own views on the nature of the Golgi element. He regards Golgi nets, dictyosomes, batonettes, rods and crescents as optical illusions, and one appearance only as genuine—that of a spherical osmiophil and argentophil cortex enclosing a spherical chromophobe core. These plainly correspond with the externum and internum of Hirsch, and although Prof. Nath is strongly opposed to the vacuome theory of Parat, yet it seems likely that the chromophobe cores correspond with Parat's vacuoles. He opposes strongly the opinion that the Golgi element is concerned with cellular secretion, and argues that, on the contrary, it is transformed into such objects as others think it secretes. He is concerned to show that in forming the acrosome, the Golgi element is completely used up, a conclusion with which many students of this cell inclusion will find themselves in disagreement. It seems possible that the difference between secretion and transformation may to some extent be a verbal one, scarcely calling for the expression of such strong opinions as those of Prof. Nath. The greater part of the address was very clearly worded. Students of the Golgi element find themselves in disagreement on several matters, and it is helpful to all concerned when views are unequivocally expressed.