Ultrastructural Studies of the Femoral Tendon Cells in the Freshly Molted Cockroach Nymph
In our electron microscopic studies of the freshly molted cockroach, Leucophaea maderae, the tendon (epidermal) cells in the nymph's femur show some characteristic features which have hitherto not been described. Within an hour of ecdysis the majority of tendon cells are attached to the cuticle and adjacent tendon cells; others are joined to the cuticle on one side and fastened to muscle on the opposite side; and some are apparently migrating free in the hemolymph. The tendon cells, whether adjacent to the cuticle or within the hemolymph, display very large numbers of microtubules and also have regions which contain rough endoplasmic reticulum and secretion granules (Fig. 1). The microtubules are oriented parallel to the myofilaments in underlying muscle cells.