Fine structure of the reticular cells in the rat spleen, with special reference to their fibro-muscular features.

Reticular cells in the rat spleen were studied with the electron microscope. Besides well developed cisterns of the granular endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex like in fibroblasts, the reticular cells contain small bundles of microfilaments, dense bodies and hemidesmosomes as in the smooth muscle cell. Based on these cytological characteristics, it is suggested that the reticular cells are fibro-muscular in nature, and they may play roles in fibrogenesis as well as in regulation of the blood flow by their contraction in the splenic reticular tissue.