RD 101 Mucous Neck Cell

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Mucous Neck Cells

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the neck of a gastric gland with the lumen in the .

The neck is the region of the gastric glands that open into gastric pits and contains several types of cells:

(green) - produce mucus that helps protect the lining of the stomach from the acidic environment
- Smaller than surface mucous cells
- (purple) - large, electron-lucent granules fill the cell's apical region
  - Produce an acidic mucus that differs from the alkaline mucus of the surface mucous cells
Parietal Cells ( and ; tan) - produce hydrochloric acid (HCL) and intrinsic factor
- - deep infoldings of apical surface cell membrane
- (orange) - formed by the endocytosis of the excess plasma membrane
  - Fuse with the apical surface when the cell is stimulated to produce acid
- (red) - contain numerous mitochondria to provide energy for acid production
(left; tan) - produce mucus that helps protect the lining of the stomach from the acidic environment
- (orange) - large, electron-lucent granules almost completely fill the cell's apical region
- (yellow) - highly developed near the nucleus
- (cyan) - stacks of cisternae found in the cell's basal region
Stem Cells (none shown) - continuously divide to produce new cells that replace old or damaged ones
- Developing cells migrate both up the gastric pits and down the gastric glands

Subcellular Structures

The (purple) separates the epithelium from the underlying connective tissue.

Courtesy of Ronald W. Dudek, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.