Gland ultrastructure in human gall bladder

The ultrastructure of two gland cell types in the chronically inflamed human gall bladder is described. The lumina of the glands in the neck region are wide and the gland cells are cuboidal in shape. The nuclei are round and relatively large and there are only a few secretory granules in the scanty cytoplasm. Glands elsewhere resemble those in the pyloric antrum of the stomach in their ultrastructure, and therefore the former may be called "antral type" glands. They contain abundant mucin granules in their cytoplasm and the Golgi apparatus is prominent. There are rather tall irregular microvilli on the apical cell surface and the nuclei are located close to the basal plasma membrane. Enterochromaffin-like cells are to be found in the antral type glands, but not in the glands of the neck region.