Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, Vol s2-85, 97-105, Copyright © 1944 by Company of Biologists

Memoirs: The Golgi Element in the Cells of the First and Second Convoluted Tubules of the Cat Kidney

1. The Golgi element in the cells of the first and second convoluted tubules, of the cat kidney have been demonstrated by the Aoyama and Da Fano techniques.

2. In both sorts of tubules the Golgi element appears as a rod-like or granular, sometimes crescentic structure, solid rather than reticular. The Golgi element usually lies on the free side of the nucleus.

3. In the macula densa of the second convoluted or distal tubule the Golgi element is seen on the basal side of the nucleus, that is, in apparent reversal to the position in the other cells. This condition in the cat is similar to that which is found in the rabbit and has been found in one autopsied case of nephritis (human).

4. The reversal of the Golgi element in the cells of the macula densa suggests (a) that some substance from the contents of the tubule here passes across the cells of the distal tubule to the specialized cells at the glomerular root, (b) this process is the method by which the haemodynamics of the nephron are integrated. This proposal, much like that made by Goormaghtigh, is here suggested as a basis upon which physiology of the normal and diseased kidney might be investigated cytologically.