Ultrastructure of the epidermal maxilla II-gland of Scutigera coleoptrata (Chilopoda, Notostigmophora) and the ground pattern of epidermal gland organs in myriapoda

The epidermal maxilla II-gland of Scutigera coleoptrata was investigated using light and electron microscopy. The glandular epithelium surrounds a spacious integumental cavity at the base of the maxilla II. The gland is formed as a compound gland organ that is composed of thousands of epidermal gland units. Each of them consists of four different cell types: a secretory cell, an accessory or intermediary cell, and a proximal and distal canal cell. The intermediary and the two canal cells form a conducting canal. Only in the most distal part of the intermediary cell is the canal lined by a cuticle. In the area of the two canal cells, the conducting canal is completely covered by a cuticle. The canal passes through the cuticle and opens into the spacious integumental cavity, which serves as a secretion reservoir. The structural organization of the epidermal maxilla II-gland was compared to that of other compound epidermal gland organs in Chilopoda and Diplopoda. All these glandular organs in Myriapoda share the same ground pattern. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.