Scanning electron microscopic observations of three-dimensional structure of the rat pancreatic duct.

To understand the fine, three-dimensional structure of the pancreatic duct, we made corrosion casts of rat pancreatic ducts and obtained biological specimens of rat pancreatic tissues for scanning electron microscopic observation. We observed the corrosion casts and the inner surfaces of the pancreatic duct specimens, using scanning electron microscopy. A comparative study between casts and specimens demonstrated the exactitude of our corrosion casts. These findings revealed the following facts: 1) The pancreatic ductal system had an almost tree-like shape, but parts of the intercalated ducts anastomosed with each other; 2) Intralobular ducts branched almost at a right angle from the interlobular ducts. Intercalated ducts, which branched off from the intralobular ducts, wound and forked into two branches, without any decrease in thickness. The intercellular secretory canaliculi extended from the central lumina, running straight through the center of the acini, close to the cell bases; 3) In pancreatic ducts, every lumen was covered with microvilli. The diameters of these microvilli were uniform (about 0.1 micron), but the heights were variable, even within a given pancreatic duct.