PANCREAS 02

This high magnification field of cat pancreas contains numerous exocrine acini and, roughly outlined by the asterisks (*), a single Islet of Langerhans. It is characteristic of these clusters of endocrine secretory cells that they are NOT separated from the exocrine clusters by a significant connective tissue capsule and can be almost impossible to distinguish from the exocrine cells except that the cells of the islets are NOT arranged as spherical acini [they are in tangled rows (cords)] and usually stain somewhat less intensely than do the exocrine cells. Each exocrine acinus has one (or sometimes two) centroacinar cell(s). Centroacinar cells are the initial portions of the intercalated ducts of the pancreas; because the acini are roughly spherical, thin sections (such as this one) will not show the centroacinar cells of all acini. The arrows indicate some especially-obvious examples of centroacinar cells.

Slide R-2, field M40,4 of finder slide B, 40X objective