Prenatal intestinal histology and histochemistry in the goat

The mucosa of the small and large intestine of goat fetuses exhibited villi which had disappeared after the 32.5-cm curved crown rump (CVR) stage. At places, the stratified epithelial lining persisted among the normal columnar epithelium with goblet cells. The concentration of goblet cells increased with age, while the thickness of the epithelium decreased. The crypts of Lieberkühn were tortuous at the base. Brunner's glands appeared at the 14.2-cm CVR stage. Peyer's patches appeared at the 24.5-cm CVR stage in the ileum. The muscularis mucosae differentiated in the large intestine in group II (16.2- to 24.5-cm CVR length) and progressed caudocranially. The striated border of the intestinal epithelium presented with alkaline phosphatase activity; this border and the goblet cells also stained for mucin. Glycogen was demonstrable in the epithelium with greater concentrations in the duodenum and jejunum in group I (11.5- to 14.6-cm CVR length), and in the ileum and large intestine in group III (30.8- to 39.5-cm CVR length).