Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Preparation and Analysis of Histological Slides of Rat and Mouse Eyeballs to Evaluate the Retina
Published on: August 23, 2024
[Histopathology and ultrastructure changes of retina in rats exposed to n-hexane]
Ying Chen1, Jin-Tang Xu, Fu-Xing Tang
1Department of Ophthalology, Guangzhou 12nd People' Hospital, Guangzhou 510620, China.
Objective:
To investigate the injury in the retina of rats exposed to n-hexane.
Methods:
Thirty-two SD male rats were randomly divided into control group and four n-hexane groups. The rats in the four n-hexane groups inhaled 35.2 g/m3 n-hexane statically for 1, 3, 7 and 14 days respectively (6 rats in every group) while 8 rats in the control group inhaled air. Histopathology and ultrastructure changes of the retina of rats were analyzed.
Results:
Rats in control group had clear layers of retinal structure, stained evenly and with regular cell shape. Retinal degeneration was observed in the rats exposed to n-hexane for 7 d and 14 d, and aggravated by degrees with time exposed to n-hexane. In the rats exposed to n-hexane for 14 d, the outer segments of photoreceptor were arranged in a confusing order, and topically there appeared dissolution; in the inner segments, mitochondria were swollen or disappeared. Pyknotic chromatin and cytoplasmic edema were observed in the outer nuclear layer. There were degeneration of horizontal cells, bipolar cells and amacrine cells in the inner nuclear layer. Cytoplasmic edema and organelle dissolution were observed in ganglionic cells. In the neurofibromas layer, outer and inner plexiform layers, there was neuron cell tuber edema, and the microfilament and vacuole of synapse decreased.
Conclusion:
The histopathology and ultrastructure of retina are damaged in the rats exposed to n-hexane, thus leading to ocular fundus disease.
