A combined histochemical and autoradiographic study of the distribution and maturation of peritoneal mast cells in the rat.

The relationship of mitotic activity and degree of cytological differentiation for mast cells of the peritoneal cavity of the rat was studied using combined autoradiographic and histochemical techniques. A mitotic pool of mast cells can be differentiated from a non-mitotic pool, the former containing cells with immature cytoplasmic differentiation and the latter with fully developed cytoplasmic histochemical properties.