| Abstract: | The ultrastructure of the adult frog ciliary epithelium cells has definite regional differences. Cells of ciliary epithelium folds near the iris display morphological features characterizing its barrier and secretory functions which lead to the formation of aqueous humor. These are junctional complexes with tight junctions (zonula occludents) in the apical parts of contacting sides of cells of the inner leaf: a great quantity of mitochondria, ribosomes and various vesicles, well developed endoplasmic reticulum in the cytoplasm, much folded basal surface, gap junctions between cells of external and internal leaflets. In the mammalian inner epithelial layer different cell junctions are known to be arranged in a fixed spatial fashion. Unlike, in the frog's epithelium both zonula adherent and desmosomes may be found in any sequence. Tight junctions are formed during metamorphosis, on the place of focal junctions, whereas gap junctions, referred to earlier as "extended", start functioning between cells just on the very early stages of eye morphogenesis (Dabagyan et al., 1979). The epithelium of the posterior part of the ciliary fold and pars plana of the ciliary body have, in addition, the number of morphological sign indicating the cell involvement in the accomodational function of any eye (i. e. a majority of desmosomes binding all cells together and of zonulae adherentes, well developed intracellular skeleton of tonofilament bundles). These features are characteristic of the whole distal part of ciliary epithelium rather than of the place of attachment of zonula fiber only. |
