Abstract
MAST cells in epithelium are considered to be extremely rare, and those who have noted them in this site consider that they have migrated from other tissues1. During a study of the structure of the mucous membrane of the œsophagus in the adult cat, we have been impressed by the constant finding of large numbers of mast cells in the epithelium. Basic lead acetate was used as a tissue fixative and meta-chromasia was demonstrated by staining with azure A or with toluidine blue. The mast cells are situated in the basal layers of the epithelium (Fig. 1), and were never observed in the more superficial regions. Although comparative counts have not yet been carried out, it appeared that the epithelium of the cranial two-thirds of the œsophagus contained fewer mast cells than the caudal third where, in any high-power field, as many as seven cells might be found. From the present work, in which the œsophagi of thirty animals have been examined, no evidence can be put forward to suggest that these mast cells appear in the epithelium as the result of migration from the subepithelial tissues, or that they migrate within the epithelium itself.
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Asboe-Hansen, G., Int. Rev. Cytol., 3, 399 (1954).
McMinn, R. M. H., and Johnson, F. R. (in the press).
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JOHNSON, F., McMINN, R. Mast Cells in the Epithelium of the Œsophagus. Nature 180, 615 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/180615a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/180615a0
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