ABSTRACT
The cytoskeleton that is responsible for the configuration of the oval erythrocyte is an ultrastructural system of functionally related organelles meriting specific attention. The erythrocytic cytoskeleton consists of three major components, the marginal band, the membrane skeleton, and intermediate filaments. The intermediate filaments of the erythrocyte’s cytoskeleton connect the nucleus with the membrane skeleton and the plasma membrane; in regions where the nucleus is absent, these filaments link opposing cytoplasmic faces of the membrane skeleton. The cytoskeleton is responsible for several critical aspects of erythrocellular development and function. The marginal band acts as an internal frame supporting the cell surface from within and helps the red cell sustain its geometry. The marginal band in the chicken’s erythrocyte consists of a single microtubule or just a few microtubules coiled many times around the cell. Developing primitive generation erythrocytes can be obtained from the chick embryo as homogenous, synchronously developing populations of erythroid cells.
