Ultrastructural study of the endocrine cells of the gut of Testudo graeca (Chelonia).

The digestive tract of Testudo graeca (Chelonia) was investigated by means of electron microscopy using both conventional and immunocytochemical techniques. EC-, L-, D-, G-, B-, N- and EC-L-cells were detected. These cells share several common ultrastructural characteristics with the endocrine cells of mammals (i.e. clear cytoplasm, prominent Golgi apparatus, secretory granules etc.). EC and D1 cells have so far not been described in the esophagus of any animal species; in the present study these cells have been observed in the esophagus of T. graeca. Of special interest was the presence of B-cells in the intestine, suggesting that the migration of B-cells from the gut to the pancreas to constitute pancreatic islets is not concluded in T. graeca. The present study demonstrates that the gut endocrine system of T. graeca is a complex structure containing a large variety of endocrine cell types similar in morphology to those found in higher vertebrates.