FEATURES OF THE THYMIC MORPHOLOGY IN HENS AND DUCKS
Abstract
The features of the thymic morphology in hens and ducks were
studied. Samples were obtained from 3 adult birds of each species. They were
studied by light microscopy using classical methods of morphological research .
The tissue samples were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and embedded in
paraffin block and finally the sections were cut at 5-10 μm thickness using sliding
microtome and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, according to Van Gizon and
Weigert and impregnated with silver nitrate according to Kelemen.
It was established that the thymus of birds was represented by isolated
cervical parts, which, in the form of strands, were located under the skin on the
lateral surfaces of the neck, along the trachea, along the course of the
neurovascular bundle, and consisted of individual lobes. In hens 5 to 8 lobes were
included in each thymus and extended from the 3-cervical vertebra to the start of
the thoraco-abdominal cavity. Thymus of ducks consisted of 3-4 lobes and was
located in the posterior third of the neck. Its cranial end was at the level of 10-11
cervical vertebrae, and caudal end reached 12 cervical vertebra. Individual lobes of
duck’s thymus had a greater absolute mass than the lobes of hen’s thymus. They
were also more separated from each other. Lobes of hen’s and duck’s thymus had
a variety of shapes. Among them, there were mainly oval, convex-oval, bean-
shaped, rounded, flat and, sometimes, sickle-shaped. Morphofunctional units of
the thymus were lobules, which consisted of a cortex and a medulla. In birds the
medulla occupied a larger area than the cortex. In the medulla, there were
Hassall’s corpuscles, that were better developed in ducks.
Keywords: hens, ducks, thymus, lobes, lobules, cortex, medulla,
Hassall’s corpuscles
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