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Abstract
Ultrastructural analyses of the normal rat lens revealed a number of characteristics present regionally within the anterior and posterior polar regions: (1) elaborate folding of the plasma membrane, including numerous microvillar processes; (2) wide intercellular spaces at basolateral cell borders; (3) concentrations of mitochondria; and (4) ouabain-sensitive Na-K-ATPase activity. These features, confined primarily to the suture systems and the anterior epithelium, suggested a cortical as well as an epithelial involvement in ion-linked fluid transport, supporting recent physiological investigations of the lens. Acid phosphatase localized in aggregations of smooth endoplasmic reticulum at the lens fiber ends suggested that this micro-organelle may be a source of acid hydrolases in the normal lens.