[Morphofunctional features of lymphoid tissue in the normal duck and after antigenic stimulation]

Formation of lymphoid tissue in the spleen and lymphatic nodes has been studied in ducks after hatching. Its reaction in the course of immune response has been revealed in intact birds after removal of one of the central organs of immunity (the thymus and bursa of Fabricius). Participation of the lymphatic nodes in immunological reactions is revealed in Lamellirostris. Certain data have been obtained on thymus- and bursa-depending zones in the duck lymphatic nodes and spleen. Dynamics of cytological composition and histochemical reactions have been studied in various zones of the duck lymphoid organs at different age and in the course of immune response in intact ducks and after thymectomy and bursaectomy. The peculiarities in the lymphoid tissue formation in Lamellirostris, in comparison to Mammalia and lower poikilothermal animals, have been discussed, as well as certain regularities in influence of the central immune organs on this process. The data obtained can be used in immunological investigations widely performed in birds, and they are also of some interest to understand the mechanisms of ontogenesis of the lymphoid tissue in the mammalian and human organisms and their disturbances taking place at selective insufficiency of T- and B-parts of the immune system.