Morphometric study of the aortic body types I cell

Summary The subclavian glomus (aortic body) of New Zealand white rabbits was examined ultrastructurally using stereological morphometric analysis. The Type I cells of the glomus possess numerous electron-opaque vesicles which occupy approximately 12% of the cytoplasmic volume of the cells. The amine-containing vesicles comprise a heterogeneous population of vesicles with a mean caliper diameter of 113.5 nm. Differences in vesicle diameters may indicate the storage of different biogenic amines, different secretion or maturation states between glomera and/or additional physiological functions for the glomera.Supported by NIH Grant 5-TO1-GM793 and The University of Texas.