[Ultrastructural characteristics of the salivary glands of the taiga tick, Ixodes persulcatus (Ixodidae). I. The granulosecreting alveoles of the fasting female].

Two types of granulosecreting alveoles were found in salivary glands of hungry females by means of electron microscopy of ultrafine sections. Alveoles of the IInd type occur in the anterior helf of the gland. They are not numerous and consist of three types of secretory cells (A, B, C) surrounding the inneralveolar cavity. The secretory cells are separated from each other and from the basal membrane by the strands of the epithelial cells P. Three types of spherical inclusions were found in the secretory cells. They differ in size, electron density and intensity of staining of half-fine sections with toluidin blue. The apical cytoplasmatic membrane of secretory cells bears numerous microvilli. Alveoles of the IIIrd type, which constitute the main mass of the gland tissue, have a narrow slit-like inneralveolar cavity. The basal part of the alveole is formed by 3--4 large cells filled with large spherical electron-transparent vacuoles of the secretion. The apical part of the alveole is occupied by 9 to 11 cells E, whose cytoplasm is filled with numerous flat cisternae of granular endoplasmatic reticulum and small and medium secretory vacuoles of different electron density. Alveoles of the IInd and IIIrd type of I. persulcatus are not identical with those of Hyalomma asiaticum, Boophilus microplus and other members of the subfamily Amblyomminae.