Leydig's Organ (named after the German histologist Franz Leydig who first described it in 1857) is a unique structure that is only found in elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), although some elasmobranchs lack this organ. Along with the spleen and special tissue around the gonads, this structure produces red blood cells and it is nestled along the top and bottom of the esophagus.^[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ Honma, Yoshiharu; Okabe, Kazuyuki; Chiba, Akira (1984). "Comparative histology of the Leydig and epigonal organs in some elasmobranchs" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 31 (1): 47-54. http://www.wdc-jp.biz/pdf_store/isj/publication/pdf/31/311/31107.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 

[edit] Sources

• http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/topics/p_blood_cells.htm

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