Stereological analysis of liver tissue excised from mature female Rana pipiens starved for 59 days and from a fed control group was conducted both at the light and electron microscopy levels. Average cellular volume decreased by more than a factor of 4 following prolonged fasting. Nuclear volume was not significantly decreased. Mitochondrial volume per cell showed a slight, though not statistically significant, decrease from 540 Μm 3 to 420 Μm 3 . Rough endoplasmic reticulum decreased in absolute surface area per cell from 13,600 Μm 2 /cell to 3,000 Μm 2 /cell after starvation, but its surface density in the cytoplasm remained relatively constant. Lipid decreased from 650 Μm 3 per cell to less than 1 Μm 3 per cell after fasting. Glycogen decreased from 49% of hepatocyte cytoplasmic volume to less than 15%, a decrease in absolute volume from 4,000–240 Μm 3 per cell. Glycogen changed from the Α to the Β-configuration during fasting. Condensed cross-banded fibers or sheets formed within the rough endoplasmic reticulum cisternae of some fasted animals. The significance of these results relative to the energy metabolism of poikilotherms is discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38085/1/1402100304_ftp.pd
