Fig. 1.

Prostate haematoxylin and eosin stained sections. (A) General features of the gerbil ventral prostate exhibiting acini (a) and periacinar smooth muscle cells (smc) organized in a densely packed layer, which is surrounded by connective tissue stroma (s). The epithelium (ep) is tall columnar. Blood vessels (v). (B–E) Telocytes (arrows) can be observed adjacent to the epithelial (ep) compartment and at the periphery of the smc layer. The phenotypic characteristics of this novel cell type are shown by the small cellular body with the presence of telopodes (asterisks) that are very thin and extremely long. Fibroblast (f).