MORPHOMETRIC ASPECTS OF DESCENDING COLON MUCOSA IN HORSES

Abstract

Morphometric evaluation was used to study some orphological features of descending colon mucosa in 15 mixed-breed horses (nine females and six males). The intestinal fragments were removed in the antimesenteric ?teniae coli region, at 50cm from the duodenocolic ligament. The measurements were made using a microscope with a calibrated cursor coupled to a computer-based image analysis system. For each sample, three variables were measured: crypt depth (μm), intercrypt distance (μm) and number of globet cells per crypt, whose means were 378,81 (± 70,02), 60,49 (± 8,13) and 45,26 (± 9,27), respectively. There were no differences between sexes (P > 0.05) for all parameters studied. The results may contribute in the evaluation and prognostic of the injuries to the mucosa of the descending colon in equines.
KEY-WORDS: Morphometry. Mucosa. Descending colon. Horses.