Presentation masters

Anatomical Study of the Gastrointestinal Tract of One-Humped Camel (Camelus dromedarius) Fetus

ByAbdulrahman Bello (08/211802001)

DEFENSE SEMINAR FOR THE AWARD OF

MASTER OF VETERINARY ANATOMYFACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

Supervisors Dr. B.I. Onyeanusi (Major supervisor)Dr. M. L. Sonfada (Co-supervisor I)

Prof. J.B. Adeyenju (Co-supervisor II)

INTRODUCTIONCamels are in the taxonomic order Artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates), sub order Tylopoda (pad-footed), and Family Camelidae (Wilson, 1984).

Camels are important animals especially to the people of arid and semi arid zones for many economic and agricultural purposes.

They have been traditionally used for transportation of people and things, to supply hides and skin, meat and milk products (Reece, 1997).

The anatomical development of all members of the Camelidae is considered to be similar but most of the available data on the anatomy of the alimentary canal have been obtained mainly from the Llama (Bustinza, 1979).

Statement of Problem

There have been many studies involving the quantitative value and histology of digestive system in adult camel, (Wilson, et al., 1990; Reece, 1997; Bustinza, 1979; Franco et. al., 2004a).

But similar studies have not been conducted on the developmental changes of the entire digestive tract of the camel fetus.

There is thus, paucity of information on the developmental changes of the digestive tract of dromedarian camel.

Justification of the Study

There is the need to understand the anatomical development of the digestive tract in elaborating the habitat and management system toward the enhancement of camel production in Nigeria.

It has been shown that pathological and teratological conditions produce changes in the morphology of the digestive tissue (Bustinza, 1979),

Hence the need for establishment of the normal structure of the histological stage (based on level of development) of the digestive tract of dromedarian camel.

Justification cont’d

There is also need to establish a base-line macroscopic and microscopic anatomical data of gastrointestinal tract of the dromedarian camel fetus within various trimesters.

This is because most of the data documented on camel is based on information from Llama.

The data obtained from this study will help to bridge the existing gap on the morphology, morphometry and histology of the digestive tract of the developing dromedarian camel.

General Objectives

The general aim of this work is to study the

Gross anatomy

Morphometry

Histology

Specific Objectives.

The specific objectives of the study are:

To provide a base-line information/data on gross anatomy of gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) of the developing fetus.

Provision of data on the morphometry of the fetal digestive tract at different developmental stages.

Study of the histology of various components of the digestive tract of one- humped camel fetuses at different gestational stages.

To relate the structural findings to the function of various segments of the gastrointestinal tract.

MATERIALS AND METHOD AREA OF STUDY. : The work was conducted in Sokoto State through daily visitation to the Sokoto metropolitan abattoir.

STUDY DESIGN.

FOETAL AGE ESTIMATION : The age of the fetuses were estimated biometrically using a formula

[GA = (CVRL + 23.99)/0.366] [ El-Wishy et al. (1981)]

DISSECTION OF THE FETUS: Chibuzor (2006) method was used for the dissection of the fetuses.

The length and diameter of the oesophagus, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, colon and rectum were measured and dissected out.

The length, width and volume of the rumen, reticulum and abomasum were also measured and dissected out too.

materials and method con’t

MORPHOMETRICAL INVESTIGATION.

I. Measuring the crown vertebral-rump length (CVRL) in centimeter.

II. Measuring the entire weight of the fetus using beam balance in Kilogram.

III. Weighing the entire digestive system (D/S) using beam balance in Kilogram.

IV. Weighing the accessory digestive system (ADS) using beam balance in Kilogram.

V. Weighing the digestive (gastrointestinal) tract (GIT) using beam balance in Kilogram.

VI. Measuring the length of the various segments of the GIT of each fetus using butterfly measuring tape in centimeter.

VII. Measuring the diameter of the various segments of the GIT of each fetus using divider and meter ruler in centimeter.

VIII. Measuring the volume of each compartment of the stomach using water displacement technique in cubic centimeter.

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materials and method con’t

HISTOLOGY : 2 cm2 of each segment of the GIT was trimmed and kept in labeled bottle

containing 10% formal saline as a fixative (Barbara and John, 2000 ; Drury et. al., 1967).

The tissues were processed using normal H & E preparation (Drury et. al., 1967; Luiz and Jose, 2005).

PHOTOMICROGRAPHY. The prepared slides were examined and photographed using motic camera

2.0 at different objective lens.

DATA PRESENTATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. Data obtained were presented in mean + standard error of mean and

student-t test was employed to analysed the data using SPSS version 17.0 statistical soft wire.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fetal Study

35 fetuses at different gestational age were used for the study.

Twelve (34.3%) were females.

Twenty three (65.7%) were males.

13(37.14%) fetuses belong to first trimester11(31.42%) belong to second trimester 11(31.42%) belong to third trimester of age.

The mean CVRL used in the study range from 20.06 ± 3.0 cm at first trimester to 103.83 ± 6.0 cm at third trimester.

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Plate 1: Fetal digestive tract at first trimester with no clear demarcation in the small intestine (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) (4), caecum (1), colon (2) and rectum (3)

3

2

4

1

Morphology of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT)

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Plate 2 Fetal digestive tract at second trimester with clear demarcation in the small intestine, jejunum (x), abomasum (5), oesophagus (1), rumen (coarse) (2), rectum (3) and colon (4).

3

42 1

X

5

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Plate 3. Fetal digestive system at third trimester showing duodenum (C), jejunum (F), ileum (A), spleen (B), rumen (smooth) (G), caecum (E) and colon (D)

C

G

B

D

F

A

E

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From the study,

camels’ gastrointestinal tract observed comprises …….

This was inline with the observations of many scholars (Luciano et. al., 1979 and Sukon, 2009) but contrary to the findings of Lesbre, 1903 and of Mayhew and Ctruz-orive, 1974.

The long and narrow oesophagus observed in the study was in line with the findings of Luciano et. al., 1979 and Sukon, 2009.

The variation in the diameter of the oesophagus at the developmental stage morphologically, was in line with the finding of Luciano et. al.,1979, (Llama) and concluded that there was increase in thickness in the oesophagus with advancement in gestation.

The division of the camel stomach into 3 major compartments is in line with the finding of Luciano et. al.,1979 and Belknap, 1994, who observed that the abomasum was a long narrow tube-like structure with no constriction and contrary to the findings of Mayhew and Ctruz-orive.

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The absence of demarcation or distinguishing features of small intestine was contrary to that of Llama which showed clear difference in the segments at the middle of the first trimester (Belknap, 1994). Nasr, 1959 conclude that, most of the monogastric mammals including rodents with short gestational periods show differentiation of the small intestine.

The differentiation of the large intestine as observed from the study from the early first trimester with a gradual increase in size and shape (morphology) was observed in most specie (llama, guanaco, buffalo, and pig). The diameters of ileum in small intestine and colon in the large intestine were found to be almost identical at both first and second trimesters there was no report on such finding in any specie of animal.

The moderately long rectum observed in the study was in line with that of Llama (Belknap, 1994), Guanaco (Cummings et. al., 1972) and Bactrian camel (Nasr, 1959), when compared to the features given for ruminant and other monogastric animals and this may likely be in line with the adaptive features of desert animals.

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Table I: Mean CVRL, weight of fetuses Mean Body weight, Weight of the Digestive system (D/S), Weight of the Digestive tract (GIT), Weight of the Accessory digestive system (ADS) of the fetuses at various trimesters

Parameters

First Trimester Second Trimester Third Trimester

Number of sample (N) 13 11 11

CVRL (mean±SEM) 20.06 ± 3.0 60.27 ± 4.0 103.83 ± 6.0

Fetal weight (Kg) (mean±SEM)

1.40 ± 0.06 6.10 ± 0.5 17.87 ± 0.6

D/S weight (Kg) (mean±SEM)

0.80 ± 0.07 2.13 ± 0.04 4.86 ± 0.08

W/GIT (Kg) (mean±SEM

0.53 ± 0.07 1.03 ± 0.05 2.43 ± 0.07

D/S index (%) 57.14 34.91 27.20

GIT index (%) 37.86 16.89 13.60

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From the results obtained in the study,

it was observed that, there was increase in body weight, organ weight and individual segment of the digestive tract in the fetuses with advancement in gestation period.

This is in agreement with the observations of Warner et. al., 1958, Jamdar and Ema, 1982 and Sonfada, 2008.

Danlardi and Riddell, 1991 have also highlighted that nutritional status and health condition of the dam (mother) play a vital role in the development of the fetus hence increase in weight of the fetus.

The digestive tract indices observed in the study showed significant difference in relation to the age (P≤ 0.05) and the indices were decreasing with advancement in gestation (body development) and similar developments were seen in the study of Luiz and Jose, 2005 in pocine specie.

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Table II: Mean Lengths of the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine; and volume of the stomach (rumen, reticular and

abomasum) at various trimesters.Parameters First Trimester Second Trimester Third Trimester

Oesophagus(cm) (mean±SEM) 13.83 ± 2.33 31.83 ± 2.00 52.13 ± 2.67

Stomach (cm)

Rumen (mean±SEM) 7.47 ± 1.67 13.83 ± 1.67 20.75 ± 1.33

Reticulum (mean±SEM) 1.97 ± 0.43 3.47 ± 0.47 6.93 ± 0.27

Abomasum (mean±SEM)

Volume (mean±SEM)( cm3)

12.67 ± 2.33

136.67± 8.30

18.33 ± 0.40

283.33± 6.50

25.75 ± 0.37

353.33± 7.65

Small intestine (cm)

Duodenum (mean±SEM) 44.83 ± 2.67 66.00 ± 2.00

Jejunum (mean±SEM) 76.00 ± 3.00 111.67 ± 3.33 139.50 ± 3.00

Ileum (mean±SEM) 59.33 ± 2.67 75.00 ± 3.00

Large intestine (cm)

Caecum (mean±SEM) 9.33 ± 0.30 28.00 ± 3.00 40.75 ± 3.33

Colon (mean±SEM) 65.00 ± 3.00 110.33 ± 3.00 164.75 ± 3.00

Rectum (mean±SEM) 8.33 ± 0.30 18.00 ± 2.00 30.00 ± 2.33

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Table III: Mean Diameters/Widths of the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine at various trimesters.

Parameters First Trimester

Second Trimester Third Trimester

Oesophagus(cm) (mean±SEM)

Stomach (cm)

Rumen (mean±SEM) 1.93 ± 0.17 6.43 ± 0.43 11.50 ± 1.00

Reticulum(mean±SEM) 1.00 ± 0.40 2.63 ± 0.30 4.05 ± 0.20

Abomasum (mean±SEM) 1.33 ± 0.20 3.00 ± 0.23 4.25 ± 0.30

Small intestine (cm)

Duodenum (mean±SEM) 0.8 ± 0.05 1.18 ± 0.03

Jejunum (mean±SEM) 0.30 ± 0.01 0.83 ± 0.02 1.20 ± 0.03

Ileum (mean±SEM) 0.80 ± 0.03 1.23 ± 0.03

Large intestine (cm)

Caecum (mean±SEM) 0.33 ± 0.03 1.13 ± 0.03 2.55 ± 0.03

Colon (mean±SEM) 0.33 ± 0.01 0.77 ± 0.02 1.60 ± 0.03

Rectum (mean±SEM) 0.40 ± 0.04 1.00 ± 0.03 3.28 ± 0.03

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• The observed increase in weight, length and diameter of various segments of the digestive tract in the study is in line with the findings of bovine, porcine and caprine specie by Franco et. al., 1993a ; Alexsander, 2008 and Luiz and Jose, 2005 respectively.

• The progressive increase in length and diameter of the oesophagus based on gestation period is in line with the observations of Belknap, 1994 and Franco et. al.,1993c on the oesophagus of Llama and showed to have significant difference in relation to the age (P≤ 0.05).

• The observed increase in lengths and widths of the rumen, reticulum and abomasum in this study showed to have significant difference in relation to the age (P≤ 0.05) and is in line with the observations of Franco et. al., 1993a, Franco et al., 1993b and Franco et. al., 1993c; who study the developmental anatomy of red dear stomach based on gestational period.

• A geometrical increase in length and diameter of the various segments of small intestine and large intestine as observed in this study showed to have significant difference (P≤ 0.05) with advancement in gestation and was in line with the findings of porcine (Vivo and Robina, 1991), bovine (Franco et. al., 1993c and Knospe, 1996), buffalo (Asari et. al., 1980) and Llama (Belknap, 1994).

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A

Plate 4: Transverse section of the oesophagus showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow), G-Oesophageal gland, A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester, 150x

BC

A

G€€€€

HISTOLOGICAL OBSERVATION

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A B A

B

Plate 5: Transverse section of the coarse rumen showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow), V-Blood vessel, A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester 150 x.

A

G

V

B

C

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Plate 6: Transverse section of the smooth rumen showing epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester 150 x.

A

B C

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A

C D

aaaaa

Plate 7: Transverse section of the reticulum showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 1ST Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester 150 x.

A

B C

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A B

Plate 8: Transverse section of the Abomasum showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester, 150 x.

A B

C

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Plate 9: Transverse section of the duodenum showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester 150 x.

A

B C

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Plate 10: Transverse section of the Jejunum showing long villi with branching of microvilli, Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester 150 x

A

B C

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A B A

B

C C DD

Plate 11: Transverse section of the Ileum showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester 150 x .

A

B C

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A B

A B

C C D D

Plate 12: Transverse section of the Caecum showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester 150 x.

A B

C

V

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A

A B

B C C C D D

Plate 13: Transverse section of the Colon showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 2nd Trimester, B- 3rd Trimester, C- Full term 150 X.

A

B C

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Plate 14: Transversal section of the Rectum showing Epithelium (Black arrow), Submucosa (Blue arrow), internal (circular) layer of tunica muscularis (Red arrow), external (longitudinal) layer of tunica muscularis (Green arrow), serosa (White arrow) A- 1ST Trimester, B- 2nd Trimester, C- 3rd Trimester 150 x.

A

B C

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CONCLUSION.

• The development of the camels’ digestive tract based on embryonic stage was morphologically in succession.

• From the study, the small intestine at first trimester was not divided in to duodenum, jejunum and ileum morphologically.

• The gross anatomy and morphometrical parameters of GIT were established.

• The developmental features of the camels’ digestive tract showed similarity with that of features reported for Llama.

• Several unique features of developing digestive tract prove adaptive features of the animal to its environment and mode of feeding.

• The camels’ stomach had little/few similarities with true ruminant based on development.

• The information obtained in this study will serve as a base-line data for the specie in this environment.

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RECOMMENDATION

Ultra-structural studies of the gastrointestinal tract of the developing camel are recommended for detailed investigation.

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