STUDIES ON THE PANCREAS OF THE GUINEA PIG 363 



Altmann and the basal basophile filaments is proven by the fact 

 that the filaments of Altmann occur in all the epithelial elements 

 of the pancreas while the basophile filaments only occur in the 

 acinus cells. 



It is now apparent that these filaments of Altmann and Michae- 

 lis belong to the same category of cell-organs as Benda's 

 mitochondria. Benda has admitted that a large number of the 

 granules described by Altmann belong to this class, and Meves 

 ('10) and Samssonow ('10) have shown by comparing the results of 

 the Altmann technique with those of their own and Benda's 

 technique on similar material that the several methods bring to 

 light the same elements. 



To this rule that the granules of Altmann, exclusive, of course, 

 of pigment granules, fat granules, and secretion granules, belong 

 to the mitochondria, the filaments of Altmann and Michaelis 

 in the pancreatic cell are no exception. Like the mitochondria of 

 the sex cells they may be demonstrated by the method of Benda. 

 They are destroyed by acetic acid. They may be demonstrated 

 by the methods of Meves, Altmann, and Regaud. Finally, I have 

 demonstrated that in the spermatocytes janus green stains intra 

 vitam only the mitochondria. Similarly in the pancreatic cell 

 it stains onlj' the filaments of Altmann. 



The interesting question of the part played by these filaments 

 in the secretory activity of the cell I shall discuss in a later paper. 

 Here, it may be interesting to mention the fact that the small 

 fat globules of the base of the pancreatic cell are imbedded in the 

 substance of the filaments, which recalls the old observation of 

 R. Heidenhain on the relation of fat to the basal filaments of the 

 cells of the convoluted tubules of the kidney, and those of Altmann 

 and his pupils on the formation and absorption of fat. 



The canals of Holmgren may be studied in preparations fixed 

 in formaline Zenker and stained with a basic stain. For this 

 purpose a pancreas which has been exhausted by long secretion is 

 best, for, in the resting pancreas, the territory of the cell which is 

 occupied by the canals is so filled with zymogen granules that the 

 canals are concealed. In the discharged cell, however, this place 

 is occupied by chromophile substance and the canals may be seen 



THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ANATOMY, VOL. 12, NO. 3 



