Anatomy and histology of the blood-vessels and biliar duct system of ostrich liver (Struthio camelus Linnaeus, 1758)

Author(s)

Gisele Saviani

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD)
• Defense date: 2009-07-02

Examining board members

Francisco Javier Hernandez Blazquez; Ricardo de Albuquerque; Mariza Pires de Melo; José Manoel dos Santos; Jose Roberto Machado Cunha da Silva

• Advisor: Francisco Javier Hernandez Blazquez

Abstract

At present the ostrich (Struthio camelus) breeding has been showing a great economical potential, although yet there are not distinct patterns about the histology of its liver, which is an organ of key importance in terms of metabolism. The knowledge of its histology and anatomy can help the detection of diseases and nutritional deficiencies that affect the growth and development of this bird. The aims of this work are to study the liver anatomical and histological structure and the branching of the hepatic artery, hepatic portal vein and bile duct. In the macroscopic study 15 ostriches with an average age of 12-18 months and average weight of 80-100 Kg, proceeding from Don Pig Abatteur, located next to Botucatu, São Paulo, were used. The birds were slaughtered with air gun and subsequently submitted to bleeding. The hepatic artery, the bile duct and the hepatic portal vein were injected with latex. The ostrich liver presents two lobules (right and left), being the right one larger than the left and both are subdivided into dorsal, intermediate and ventral. Liver samples were processed for light and electron transmission microscopic studies. Hematoxilin and eosin (HE), picrosirius, Gordon and Sweets, Sudan black and Schiff periodic acid (PAS) were respectively used to observe the liver morphology, collagen, reticular fibers, lipids and glycogen. The liver portal spaces were determined (hepatic artery, portal vein, bile duct and centrolobular veins). An average of 5.68% of glycogen was observed. The lipidic content provided a droplet aspect compatible to hepatic esteatosis, with an average of 9.83%. Collagen fibers around the liver portal spaces, centrolobular arteries and sinusoidal cappilaries were detected, at an average of 14.71%, as well as reticular fibers located in the vicinity of sinusoidal capillaries with an average of 5.96%. Through transmission electron microscopy we noticed in the hepaticyte cytoplasm the presence of numerous mithocondria, glycogen, several lipidic droplets, some lysosomes, granular endoplasmatic reticulum around the mithocondria, some stellate cells, erythrocytes, nucleus and degenerating cells, besides the central biliary canaliculus. The suggestive steatotic results might result from the animals nutritional status, once no other relevant aspect was detected. The birds are slaughtered for food comsumption and their ration is balanced striving for faster growth and higher weight gains, which are achieved through extra lipidic levels, motivating deposition of lipidic micelles in the hepatocytes. Our results demonstrated that ostrich and other birds hepatocytes are very similar. (AU)