Histology and cytochemistry of human skin. VIII. Mitochondria in the sebaceous glands.

Mitochondria are not difficult to demonstrate in sebaceous cells. Yet, they are only briefly described in the literature. Nicholas et al (4) believed that mitochondria in sebaceous cells undergo a direct transformation into lipid droplets. In the sebaceous glands of the mouse the mitochondria are said to increase in number at the beginning of lipid storage, to decrease during sebaceous transformation, and to disappear in mature cells (2). In this paper mitochondria are studied in human sebaceous glands. They are intimately associated with the synthesis and storage of lipids but the lipid droplets do not seem to develop at the expense of rnitochondria.