Duct System
As ducts travel from the acinus which generates the fluid to the target, the ducts become larger and the epithelium becomes thicker. The parts of the system are classified as follows:
| Type of duct | Epithelium | Surroundings |
| intralobular duct | simple cuboidal | parenchyma |
| interlobular duct | simple columnar | connective tissue |
| interlobar duct | stratified columnar | connective tissue |
Some sources consider "lobar" ducts to be the same as "interlobar ducts", while others consider lobar ducts to be larger and more distal from the acinus. For sources that make the distinction, the interlobar ducts are more likely to classified with simple columnar epithelium (or pseudostratified epithelium), reserving the stratified columnar for the lobar ducts.
-
Section of submaxillary gland of kitten. Duct semidiagrammatic. X 200.
-
Section of portion of mamma.
Read more about this topic: Ductus
Famous quotes containing the word system:
“In a universe that is all gradations of matter, from gross to fine to finer, so that we end up with everything we are composed of in a lattice, a grid, a mesh, a mist, where particles or movements so small we cannot observe them are held in a strict and accurate web, that is nevertheless nonexistent to the eyes we use for ordinary living—in this system of fine and finer, where then is the substance of a thought?”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)