Bilateral dimorphism of Loewenthal's gland in young male albino rats: an ultrastructural investigation

This study represents a further contribution to our knowledge about the str ucture of Loewenthal's gland. There are several divergences in the availabl e literature on the topic, concerning both the histological and ultrastruct ural findings. However, in these studies, the authors did not take into acc ount the potential influence of a putative side-dependent dimorphism previo usly reported by us. We therefore carried out histological and electronmicr oscopic observations specifically aimed at evaluating the importance of the gland shape for its structure. In particular, in male albino rats aged 70- 120 days, we compared the structure of the left and right glands. Depending on the side undergoing morphological investigation, we observed difference s in the acini, cells, nuclei, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and g ranular content, Apart from slight individual differences, we found that st ructural variations were most frequently observed in glands displaying a mo re evident macroscopic side-specific dimorphism. Our findings demonstrate t hat several conflicting data in the literature dealing with the structure o f Loewenthal's glands might be explained by the morphofunctional side-depen dent dimorphism of the organ.