The surface morphology of the endolymphatic sac of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) (a scanning electron microscopic study).

A scanning electron microscopic study of the endolymphatic sac of the mongolian gerbil is presented. As described in other animal species and in man, three rather distinct regions on the epithelial surface can also be recognized in this rodent. Light and dark cells are seen to line the sac epithelium throughout. At the level of the intermediate portion, however, a different cell type--the granular cell--is present, with its luminal surface covered by large amounts of solid material. On the basis of light and transmission electron microscopic studies presented elsewhere, a higher degree of functional specialization in this portion of the gerbilline sac is proposed.