The urinary bladder epithelium of the rat. Scanning electron-microscopic study.

The surface of the urinary bladder of the rat appeared to have a very well-ordered arrangement when viewed with the help of the scanning electron microscope. Intercellular junctions were well demarcated by prominent ridges. The majority of cells appeared to have a pentagonal or hexagonal shape. The surface morphology of the epithelial cells appeared to be consistent throughout the whole population of cells. It was made up of small ridges and some short microvilli. Comments on the significance of the surface specialization were made.