[On the ultrastructure of the parotid and submandibular gland of the mongoose Herpestes edwardsi (Viverridae) (author's transl)].

The parotid and submandibular glands of the mongoose are described. Essential differences between the 2 glands were recognized in the acini; however, the intra- and interlobular ducts are built up similarly. The parotid gland is acinar. Its secretory cells are filled with distinct types of granula, which show a considerable variation of size and structure of their secretory material. Organelles are found sparsely. The submandibular gland, however, is tubuloacinar. Its tubuli are capped with cells which belong to the demilunes of v. EBNER, but because of their pale granules they occupy an exceptional position. As the acinar cells of the parotid gland, they form intercellular canaliculi by their plasmalemmata. In the secretory cells of the tubules an intimate contact between the rER and the granules is observed. The intralobular duct surface is built up by an onelayered epithelial cell formation. The cytoplasm of the intercalated duct cells is rich in bundles of filaments, and these cells contain mitochondria with a particular dense matrix. Some microvilli cover the apical surface. In the cells of the striated ducts several populations of granules differing in size and electron density are found. The material of the dense granules shows a marginal plate-like condensation, sometimes it cristallizes. It is supposed that they were released by an apocrine extrusion mechanism. Terminal axons innervate the acini, the duct cells, and also the myoepithelial cells. The findings are compared with the well-known morphology of the salivary glands of the cat.