Crystalloid configuration in the adrenal cortex of the Siamese tree shrew (Tupaia glis)

Crystalloids of what appear to be smooth reticulum have been observed in the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis in both the stressed and nonstressed adrenal gland of the Siamese tree shrew (Tupaia glis). No crystalloids are observed in the zona glomerulosa. Similar crystalloids have been described in other steroid-secreting organs, including the antebrachial organ of the lemur (Lemur catta), the parotoid gland of Bufo alvarius and in sebaceous gland cells of the Galagos and Macaques. Moreover, the crystalloids in the present investigation resemble the paracrystalline arrays of smooth reticulum present in the adrenal cortex of the fetal guinea pig. The crystalloids show much variation in degree of organization, sometimes appearing as wavy tubules parallel with one another or as fused tubules having a "donut" configuration. In addition, the crystalloids are nearly identical to configurations which have been described in mitochondrial cristae of the protozoan, Pelomyxa carolinensis.