Studies on the avian shell gland during egg formation: Aqueous and electrolytic composition of the mucosa1

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The intracellular composition of the avian [hen] shell gland mucosa was studied at 6 stages of egg formation. Total water content of the mucosa before shell calcification was 4.8 kg/kg dry weight (dw) and rose to 6.6 kg/kg dw during shell formation; 60% of the increase was intracellular and 40% extracellular. The K concentration of the mucosa remained constant during egg formation. Chloride was removed constantly from the mucosal cells during egg formation. A model was constructed for the glandular cells which depicts them as primarily NaHCO3-secreting cells towards the luminal side and HCl-secreting cells towards the serosal side, their main function being to provide .**GRAPHIC**. for shell formation. In this model, the columnar mucosal cells are responsible for the Ca used in shell formation.