Stereologic studies on mitochondrial configuration in different organs of the rat.

Mitochondria from different organs of the rat with configurations ultrastructurally resembling those of isolated mitochondria of known respiratory states have been subjected to stereologic analysis. Mitochondria were examined from mossy fibers of the granular layer of the cerebellar cortex (condensed state), of the pericentral hepatocytes (orthodox state), and of heart muscle and parietal cells of the gastric fundus (transitional state). In order to study the relationship between mitochondrial compartments and the internal membrane a "partition coefficient" was introduced, which expresses the volume of the matrix (E mm) and external compartment (E ocm) respectively per unit surface area of internal mitochondrial membrane.

Stereologic analysis of mitochondria of hepatocyte from fasted rats in the course of digestion.

Changes of the configurational states of the rat's hepatocyte mitochondria after 18 hours fasting and then one, two, three, four hours after feeding were investigated with stereological methods. Among others morphometric parameters coefficient of share (E) was introduced to express external or internal mitochondrial compartment volume per unit of surface area of the internal membrane. For parameters variation analysis Kruskal-Wallis test was used.