1.Histological observation of the major endocrine organs in laboratory tree shrews
Dexuan KUANG ; Xiaomei SUN ; Caixia LU ; Wenguang WANG ; Pinfeng TONG ; Anguo YIN ; Xiaofei LI ; Jiejie DAI
Chinese Journal of Comparative Medicine 2014;(6):35-39
Objective To understand the histological characteristics of the major endocrine organs of tree shrew , and provide a normal histological atlas of endocrine organs of tree shrew .Methods Ten artificially fed healthy tree shrews were killed and dissected after anesthesia .The thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands were observed by gross inspection and samples were taken for routine histological examination with HE staining .Results ( 1 ) The thyroid gland was pale yellow, located on both sides of the 2-4 tracheal rings.The thyroid gland was plate-shaped, its surface was covered with a thin fibrous capsule . The thyroid parenchyma was divided into several lobules by stretched capsule membrane .Follicular and parafollicular cells were distributed in the lobules , and red colloid was present in follicular cavity.(2) Each side had one parathyroid , located on the cranial or the outer surface of the middle part of the thyroid gland, and was slightly covered by thyroid .The gland was round or oval , and its parenchyma was made up of the principal cells and eosinophil cells , and acinar structure appeared in the parenchyma .( 3 ) The adrenal glands were oval , yellow color, located in the renal hili , and linked to the kidneys .They were surrounded by a thin capsule .The parenchyma was divided into cortex and medulla .The cortex was divided into zona glomerulosa , zona fasciculata and zona reticularis from outside to inside.The zona glomerulosa was the thickest layer and the zona fasciculata was the thinnest .The medulla cells formed clumps or mesh, with central vein in the central part .(4) The pituitary gland was located in the sella turcica , with no recessus hypophysis .The pituitary gland was composed of the adenohypophysis and neurohypophysis .Its surface was covered with a connective tissue capsule .The pituitary gland was divided into distal part , middle part and pars tuberalis . neurohypophysis was made up of neural and pars infundibularis .Conclusions The histological atlas of endocrine organs in the tree shrew is established , which is close to that of the primate animals in the morphology , and provide histological evidence for the study of tree shrew endocrine organs and disorders , as well as the animal model of human diseases .