Three-dimensional structure of some Sertoli cell organelles in the cotton rat and shiba goat.

The three-dimensional structure of some Sertoli cell organelles in the cotton rat and shiba goat was observed under a scanning electron microscope using the Osmium-Dimethyl sulfoxide-Osmium method. Mitochondria of the Sertoli trunk in the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observation appeared much longer and more densely distributed than those in the transmission electron microscopic (TEM) observation and had a different shape from oval mitochondria in the basal region of the Sertoli cell. These rod-shaped mitochondria, 2-3 microns in length, accumulated closely among the ER network. Smooth ER in the Sertoli trunk was composed of continuous small bulges like strings of beads and were connected with each other to form a net-arranged network. Although microtubules which were seen in large numbers in the TEM observation were not preserved in the sample of the present study, a quantity of intermediate filaments was recognized three-dimensionally. These intermediate filaments seemed more crowded in the SEM observation than in the TEM observation. They frequently ramified and formed a meshwork. The accurate configurations of some Sertoli cell organelles, especially the smooth ER network, were obtained from the present study. Each intracellular organelle appeared more densely in the SEM observation than in the TEM observation.