Relationship of apical domes in the rabbit uterine epithelium during the peri-implantation period to endocytosis, apocrine secretion and fixation

摘要

Summary. The luminal surfaces of non-ciliated uterine epithelial cells of 17 rabbits on Days 4–6 of pregnancy were studied histologically with light microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The luminal surfaces of most epithelial cells exhibited short microvilli and did not project into the uterine lumen. However, the surfaces of some cells showed fewer microvilli and bulged out into the uterine lumen, giving the cells a dome-like appearance. The domes appeared most frequently on Day 6 of pregnancy and contained a few ribosomes, mitochondria, and membranous elements; large vacuoles and granules were absent.