[Structural changes in the rat intestinal wall during starvation]

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of starvation on all the tunics of duodenum and rectum wall. The animals were 20 outbred albino rats; the control group comprised 4 animals. The animals were starved while the drinking regime remained unchanged. Material was obtained at days 3 and 6 of starvation and was studied using electron microscopy. The changes were detected in the structure of mucosa, submucosa, tunica muscularis and serosa. These structural changes were of similar nature in all the tunics and differed only by the degree of their severity. The most pronounced changes were observed in all the epithelial cell types (absorbing, goblet and endocrine) in both parts of the intestine. These included cell flattening, microvilli reduction and deformation, mucus production disturbances, destructive changes in the mitochondria (swelling, cristae reduction, vacuoles and myelin-like structures formation, disruption of both mitochondrial membranes).