Microscopic structure of albino rats' small intestine

Introduction: The small intestine of albino rats is a transitive canal between the stomach and the cecum that is closely located from each other, reaches a length of one meter, which in comparison ratio to body weight significantly exceeds the corresponding segment in humans. The aim: The paper is aimed at thorough histological study of the wall and structure of albino rats' small intestine mucosa.

Materials and methods:30 mature albino male rats were involved into the study. The specimens of albino rats' small intestine, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin solution, have been studied. The study was carried out using conventional histological methods for obtaining serial paraffin sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin. Epoxy plastination of individual tissue samples of the small intestine was performed. Subsequently, polished thin sections were made, stained with 1% methylene blue and 1% borax solution. The obtained specimens were studied on the "Konus" light microscope equipped with Sigeta DCM-900 9.0MP digital microphoto attachment with the Biorex 3 software adapted for studies of such type.

Results and conclusions: For the first time in the practice of histological study of the epithelial covering of the mucous membrane of the small intestine, attention is drawn to the specific pattern of its organization on the intestinal villi. It has been found that epithelial covering consists of alternating cluster epithelial aggregations separated by fissured depressions. Since no mentioning about them has been found in the publication, these cluster aggregations of enterocytes can be called epithelial buds of the intestinal villi. Consequently, it can be concluded that with the exception of some specific morphological features, the small intestine of albino rats is homologous to human one by its histological structure, which means that it can be used as a model for various experimental studies.