The
gastric mucosa that lines the inner wall of the
stomach has a set of microscopic features called gastric glands which, depending on the location within the stomach, secrete different substances into the
lumen of the organ. The openings of these glands into the stomach are called
gastric pits which foveolar cells line in order to provide a protective alkaline secretion against the corrosive
gastric acid.
Microanatomy . Foveolar cells line the surface of the stomach and the gastric pits. They constitute a
simple columnar epithelium, as they form a single layer of cells and are taller than their width. Other mucus-secreting cells are the mucous neck cells in the necks of the gastric glands. As mucins are lost during routine
histology preparation, they stain pale, but if preserved correctly the cells stain strongly with special techniques like
PAS or
toluidine blue, the last representing the
anionic nature of foveolar cell secretions. Below the mucin granules, surface mucous cells have a
Golgi apparatus, the
nucleus, and small amounts of
rough endoplasmic reticulum. Mucous neck cells are located within gastric glands. These are shorter than their surface counterpart and contain lesser quantities of mucin granules in their apical surface. ==Function==