The ciliary pattern of the parietal layer of Bowman's capsule

摘要

AbstractThe parietal layer of Bowman's capsule in man and rat has been examined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. In both species, cilia were found to be present in a regular pattern occurring one per cell. The cilia differed in length between the immature and mature human kidney, but were consistently located near the edge of the cell nucleus. Since they are not numerous enough to have a significant propulsive role, we have postulated that they may have some other specific function. In addition to the cilia, microvilli were regularly observed on the surface of the parietal cells. They tended to be more numerous along the margins of the epithelial cells and, in contrast to the cilia, their pattern was highly variable. This variability probably indicates that they are transitory structures which can be increased or decreased in response to as yet unknown stimuli.