Ciliated Granulosa Cells of the Bat, Myotis grisesoens

Abstract

Ultrastructural study of the bat ovary reveals ciliated granulosa cells in follicles of all stages of development. Figs. 1-4 show a developmental range of follicles from the very youngest (Fig. 1) to the near or mature follicle (Fig. 4).The location and intracellular association of the cilia with the nucleus, Golgi complex and diplosome are the same in follicles of all degrees of development (Figs. 1-4). It seems significant that the cilium (c) of the granulosa cell is located consistently on that surface of the cell which is oriented toward the ovum (Figs. 1-4).The cilia have a fiber pattern of 9+0, in contrast to the usual 9+2 (Fig. 2). Cilia of this type have been found in a wide range of dissimilar organs. They are limited to metazoans. Their presence provides no clue to the origin of the granulosa cells, since all three germ layers may give rise to ciliated cells.