Ultrastructure of the capsule of the rabbit adrenal gland

The capsule of the normal rabbit adrenal gland was examined with the electron microscope, and three layers are described. The outermost layer consists of collagen and elastic fibrillae, with cytoplasmic processes of fibroblasts in between. Myofibroblasts with parallel cytoplasmic filaments, dense bodies at the inner surface of the plasma membrane and an irregular nuclear outline were seen in the middle layer. The presence of unmyelinated nerves and an axon terminal near to the myofibroblasts of the middle layer raised the possibility of innervation of these cells which could have a contractile function. The basal lamina of the fenestrated capilaries in the inner vascular layer is occasionally fused with that of the outer zona glomerulosa, suggesting a probable route for blood supply and secretion.