OBSERVATIONS ON PRISMATIC-TYPE MITOCHONDRIA WITHIN ASTROCYTES OF THE SYRIAN HAMSTER BRAIN

Abstract

This paper describes a special form of mitochondria which has been observed using the electron microscope in certain astrocytes of the Syrian hamster brain. The interior structural pattern of these mitochondria is characterized by the presence of numerous equilateral prismatic tubules in a highly regular hexagonal arrangement, instead of the customary foliate cristae. Such mitochondria have been designated as "prismatic type," in contradistinction to the more usually encountered crista and tubular types. The findings are compared with the occasional similar findings reported in the literature, and their possible functional meaning is briefly discussed.