An electron microscope study of the respiratory epithelium in the lungs of the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)

Abstract

The respiratory epithelium in the lungs of the common fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) has been studied by electron microscopy. The entire pulmonary gas-exchange area is covered by a continuous epithelium, the cells of which are all of the same type and are termed 'pneumonocytes'. Typically, each pneumonocyte is squamous and has attenuated sheets of cytoplasm which extend over the pulmonary capillaries. Its free surface bears squat microvilli, and osmiophilic inclusion bodies and other organelles are prominent in the cytoplasm. The lateral cell walls have numerous desmosomes and interdigitating cytoplasmic processes. Many cells send cytoplasmic processes deep into the substance of the lung septa. The morphological evidence suggests that the pneumonocytes are responsible for the secretion of pulmonary surface-active agents and for maintaining the integrity of the gaseous diffusion membrane.