ELECTRON MICROSCOPE OBSERVATIONS ON THE PHALLIC (CONGLOBATE) GLAND OF THE COCKROACH, PERIPLANETA AMERICANA

Fine structural organization of the spermatheca in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana

The detailed structure of the cockroach spermatheca is described and discussed firstly as an example of an insect integumentary gland, and secondly, from the standpoint of its role in reproduction. The gland comprises a cortical rank of separate secretory units, each associated with an epithelial duct cell responsible for receiving secreted materials and transporting them through the cuticular intima lining the reproductive tract. Secretory activity is cyclic, and the probable mode of elaboration and release of secretory material is described, together with the fine structure of the markedly differing intimas associated respectively with the glandular and conducting units.

Cytodifferentiation in the accessory glands of Tenebrio molitor I. Ultrastructure of the tubular gland in the post-ecdysial adult male

The tubular accessory reproductive glands of the male mealworm beetle consist of a secretory epithelium surrounded by a thin muscular sheath. Each columnar secretory cell is divisible into three zones: basal which is adjacent to the muscle layer and contains rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi, intermediate, which contains endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi zones in the immature gland and is filled with secretory vesicles in the mature gland, and apical. Maturation also involves proliferation and organization of the rough endoplasmic reticulum in the basal and intermediate zone. The process appears to be complete at four days after ecdysis. Parallels with other insect glands and with the mammalian prostate are striking.