Quantitative and morphometric parameters determining the development of the supraoptic nucleus in the albino rat

The principal part of the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the rat presents specific developmental factors. The parameters selected for their evaluation were volume of the SON, neuronal number and neuronal density. White Wistar rats of the age of 18, 19, 20, 22 and 23 intrauterine days, 15 days and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 30 months were chosen for this study. The rat brains were fixed, cut into 10-micron-thick sections and stained with hematoxylin-eosin. The different measurements were carried out with a semiautomatic IBAS I image analyzer. In all stages of the rat life, an increase in volume and a decrease in neuronal density per surface unit could be observed, but there was a difference in the dynamics of these changes depending on the stage in which the parameters were determined. There were two periods in the life of the rat in which neuronal death was very significant. The first was between the embryonic and juvenile stage and the second between the adult and senile stage. The increase in the volume influences predominantly the value of neuronal density.