Abstract

THE McManus (1946) periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) technique and the Gomori (1950) aldehyde fuchsin stain have been employed successfully in demonstrating and elucidating the histophysiology of 3 types of pituitary gland basophils (Halmi, 1950; Pearse, 1952; Purves and Griesbach, 1955). Among other cytological and histochemical methods applied to this gland, several silver impregnation methods (Bodian protargol, Gros-Schultz, Masson) will selectively demonstrate certain cells in the pars distallis (Hamperl, 1932; Biondi, 1936; Morita, 1937; Popoff, 1943; Dawson and Barnett, 1944; Hellweg, 1951; Knigge, 1955a). The identity of the cell which exhibits this property of reducing silver has not been definitely established. Popoff (1943) suggested that argyrophilic cells represented both acidophils and basophils in a resting or non-secretory phase. Hellweg (1951), applying the protargol method to human glands, demonstrated several types of argyrophilic cells on the basis of cell size and the number and size of blackened cytoplasmic granules.

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