Some observations upon the Golgi elements of the anterior pituitary cells of normal and stilboestrol-treated male rats, using the Sudan black technique.

THIS investigation was undertaken in order to discover whether the Golgi elements of anterior pituitary cells possessed the duplex structure described by Baker (1944) for cells of certain vertebrates and invertebrates, after fixation in formal-calcium chloride and staining in sudan black. Pituitaries of normal mature male rats and comparable animals implanted with tablets of stilboestrol were used. The latter were studied for comparative purposes, since it is known that both synthetic and natural oestrogens activate the glandular cells of the anterior hypophysis, causing, among other changes, hypertrophy of the Golgi elements (Severinghaus, 1937; Foster, 1942).