Vacuome

VACUOME (from Latin vacuus-empty, hollow), a name proposed by the French histologist Parat for the collection of vacuoles that appear as red droplets when a living cell is immersed in a weak solution of neutral red; many of these vesicles, in his opinion, also exist during life. The vesicles that are stained by neutral red during life had long been described by Renaut in special connective tissue cells of the omentum and mesentery, which he considered secretory and called rhago-crinous; furthermore, in in vitro cultures of mesenchyme derivatives, many had described the appearance of vesicles from the action of neutral red (neutral red vesicles), with some considering this a degenerative phenomenon. Parat and his students observed the V. in the most diverse cells and consider it a permanent component of the cell—a cellular apparatus. The V. is located near the nucleus; at the place where the sphere is located, the Golgi reticular apparatus is found and secretions are produced; it forms a rounded accumulation, from which strands extend along the sides of the nucleus. According to Parat, the vesicles of the vacuome participate in the production of secretions; they, with appropriate treatments, also give rise to the Golgi apparatus and the canals of Holmgren (see Cell). Parat's work provoked objections from supporters of the independent existence of the Golgi apparatus, since it was found that the vesicles of the vacuome can exist alongside separate parts of the apparatus.