[Cytotomy in multinucleated epithelial cells under experimental conditions]

Multinucleated cell (MNC) cytotomy was studied in the epithelia with different functions (lining and glandular). Methods of light and electron microscopy were used to study MNCs in parietal peritoneum mesothelium of albino mice and in acinar-insular ("mixed") pancreatic cells of albino rats. Mesothelium was studied in film preparations, in which cell boundaries were demonstrated by silver nitrate. "Mixed" cells were studied by electron microscopy. Mice were injected with 0.4% hydrochloric acid, while rats were administered 40% glucose solution. MNCs in the epithelia studied were shown to be divided into cell territories, each consisting of a nucleus surrounded by the cytoplasm. These territories differed from each other by their structure and, therefore, by their functions. The appearance of plasma membranes between these cytoplasmic areas separating them into mononuclear cells or smaller MNCs, is described.