The present author has observed that two kinds of secretory cells can be demonstrated in the adrenal medulla of the rat, the cat, the dog, the mouse and the hamster (Eränkö, 1951 a, b, 1952, 1954 b, 1955). After fixation in formalin, some cell groups, called in the following description medullary islets, exhibit a bright green fluorescence in ultraviolet light, the other medullary cells fluorescing but faintly. The relative amounts of islet tissue and noradrenaline in the adrenal medulla vary in a parallel manner in different species. Thus, e. g., much islet tissue and a high proportion of noradrenaline is seen in the adrenal medulla of the cat; in the adrenal medulla of the rat, on the other hand, the islet content is low, and the amount of noradrenaline is much smaller than the adrenaline content (Eränkö, 1952, 1954 b, 1955).
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Olavi Eränkö (1955) studied this question.