Electron microscopic studies on the liver of Kadaknath fowl

Abstract

The present study was carried out on Kadaknath birds. The study was conducted to investigate the ultrastructure of liver of the 7 days and 112 days old Kadaknath fowl. The Scanning and Transmission electron microscopic studies revealed that A meshwork of anastomosing cords of hepatocytes consisting of from 4 to 6 cells arranged around a central bile canaliculus was formed. Sinusoids lining the hepatic cords were seen containing RBCs. Each cord of hepatocytes consisted of from 4 to 6 cells arranged around a central bile canaliculus. Hepatocytes were arranged in radiating manner around the central vein as observed under Scanning Electron microscope. By Transmission Electron microscope, it was observed that the Glisson's capsule was lined by single layer of flat squamous cells. In the parenchyma, the sinusoids had endothelial cells and Kupffer cells. Endothelial cells had flattened processes and bulging perinuclear cytoplasm. Von Kupffer cells possessed numerous pseudopodia. Numerous blood cells were present in the sinusoids. The hepatocytes had three surfaces-lateral, vascular and biliary. The vascular surface was formed by microvilli. The inter-hepatocytic lateral surfaces were closely applied. The biliary surface participated in bile canaliculus formation and had short, regular microvilli. The hepatocyte nucleus was located towards the vascular pole. The mitochondria was pleomorphic and had electron dense matrices The microtubules occasionally formed bundles near the biliary pole. Golgi body and other microbodies in the cytoplasm were enclosed within a single membrane and their matrix was finely granular and of moderate electron density. Bile canaliculi, at the centre of the cords, were formed by the biliary poles of 4-6 hepatocytes being joined together by tight junctions and collectively surrounding a small tube of extracellular space. This work sheds a light on Scanning and Transmission electron microscopic features of the liver of an Indian black fowl, Kadaknath.