Cytology 12

Shown here are a number of acinar clusters of exocrine secretory cells in the pancreas. Such cells are typically pyramidal in shape with their widest, basal, portion at the outside of the cluster and their narrowest, apical, portion at the center. Arrow A indicates the apical end of one such cell; the tip of the arrow is actually placed in the lumen of the small duct into which the exocrine cell secretes. The arrow B indicates the basal part of the cell; its intense basophilia reflects the presence - in addition to the nucleus - of the rough ER in which the secretory materials are synthesized. In an adjacent acinus, the asterisk (*) is placed over the apices of several secretory cells where the granular texture of the cytoplasm reflects the presence of numerous protein-rich storage (zymogen) granules.

Slide A-12, 63X objective