Acinus
Multi-lobed biological cell structure
An acinus (/ˈæsɪnəs/; pl.: acini; adjective, acinar /ˈæsɪnər/ or acinous) refers to any cluster of cells that resembles a many-lobed "berry", such as a raspberry (acinus is Latin for "berry"). The berry-shaped termination of an exocrine gland, where the secretion is produced, is acinar in form, as is the alveolar sac containing multiple alveoli in the lungs.
01Exocrine glands
Acinar exocrine glands are found in many organs, including:
- the stomach
- the sebaceous gland of the scalp
- the salivary glands of the tongue
- the liver
- the lacrimal glands
- the mammary glands
- the pancreas
- the bulbourethral (Cowper's) glands
The thyroid follicles can also be considered of acinar formation but in this case the follicles, being part of an endocrine gland, act as a hormonal deposit rather than to facilitate secretion.
Mucous acini usually stain pale, while serous acini usually stain dark.
02Lungs
The end of the terminal bronchioles in the lungs mark the beginning of a pulmonary acinus that includes the respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, alveolar sacs, and alveoli.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Acinus”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Normal breast histology.png by Mikael Häggström, M.D. Author info - Reusing images - Conflicts of interest: None Mikael Häggström, M.D. Consent note: Consent from the patient or patient's relatives is regarded as redundant, because of absence of identifiable features (List of HIPAA identifiers) in the media and case information (See also HIPAA case reports guidance). The image integrates a source image by de Bel T, Litjens G, Ogony J, Stallings-Mann M, Carter JM, and Hilton T, CC BY 4.0
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