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Extraadrenal chromaffin organs (abdominal paraganglia): Distribution, histology and fine structure

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Ultrastructure of Endocrine Cells and Tissues

Part of the book series: Electron Microscopy in Biology and Medicine ((EMBM,volume 1))

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Abstract

The term paraganglia refers to microscopic aggregations of epithelioid cells which are encapsulated by connective tissue and positioned directly next to abdominal sympathetic ganglia and plexuses. These small cells exhibit chromaffinity, contain catecholamines and generally posses morphological and embryological characteristics like those of intraadrenal chromaffin cells. Consequently, paraganglion cells are homologous to the cells which comprise the endocrine adrenal medulla (1,2, 3). Vincent (4) and later Wislocki (5) located paraaortic chromaffin organs which were significantly larger than paraganglia in the abdomen of various species. Recent studies by the present authors utilized anatomical and fluorescence histochemical methods to map the pattern of distribution and persistence of extraadrenal chromaffin tissue in dogs, rabbits and humans (6, 7, 8). In addition, the so-called ‘paraganglia’ also have been located in relation to the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves (9, 10). A significant volume of similar chromaffin cells also resides within the sympathetic ganglia (11, 12).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Joe A. Mascorro & Robert D. Yates

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere 10, Finland

    Antti Hervonen

Authors
  1. Joe A. Mascorro
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  2. Antti Hervonen
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  3. Robert D. Yates
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rome, Italy

    P. M. Motta M.D., Ph.D.

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© 1984 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Boston, The Hague, Dordrecht, Lancaster

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Mascorro, J.A., Hervonen, A., Yates, R.D. (1984). Extraadrenal chromaffin organs (abdominal paraganglia): Distribution, histology and fine structure. In: Motta, P.M. (eds) Ultrastructure of Endocrine Cells and Tissues. Electron Microscopy in Biology and Medicine, vol 1. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3861-1_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3861-1_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-3863-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-3861-1

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