ABSTRACT
Aluminium is presents in many manufactured foods and medicines and is also added to drinking water for purification purposes. The lungs consist essentially of; the spongy respiratory tissue in which gaseous exchange occurs between blood and air, and a branching system of air tubes called bronchioles and bronchi which “pipe” air into and from the pockets and passageways of the spongy respiratory tissue. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible effects that aluminium chloride exposure could have on the histology of lungs of wistar rats. Twenty wistar rats were used for this study. They were well fed with grower mash, provided with adequate water and kept under good ventilation. The wistar rats were divided into five groups as follows: Group I was the control, group II was given 475mg/Kg, group III received 950mg/kg, group IV received 1,425mg/kg and group V received 1,900mg/kg of aluminium chloride through oral intubation for period of eight weeks. The wistar rats were humanely sacrificed, the lungs removed, fixed, processed and stained with Haematoxylin and eosin. Photomicrographs of the lungs showed congested blood vessels in the aluminium treated groups. Based on our observations, we therefore conclude that aluminium chloride exposure was detrimental to the histology of lungs.
ABSTRACT
The study was carried out to determine the effect of season on the female reproductive organs of the African Giant rat using the standard methods, with the aim of obtaining the base-line values. The weights of the oviduct/uterus, vagina and the entire tubular organ were consistently higher during the harmattan season (0.789 +/- 0.07 g, 2.708 +/- 0.19 g and 3.455 +/- 0.25 g, respectively) than the hot dry (0.591 +/- 0.02 g, 2.239 +/- 0.13 g and 2.831 +/- 0.14 g, respectively) and the rainy season (0.723 +/- 0.04 g, 2.412 +/- 0.01 g and 3.148 +/- 0.12 g, respectively). The mean weight and length of the ovary were not significantly different throughout the season, suggesting that the AGR may breed throughout the year. The slight increase in the weight of the tubular organ during the harmattan (November February) and the rainy (June October) season suggests that the seasons may be favourable for breeding, probably because of the abundance of food available to the rodents in the wild during the seasons. The decrease in weights of the organs during the hot-dry season (March May) was, apparently, due to the unfavourable climatic conditions and food scarcity during the season. In conclusion, the results of the present study provide base -line morphometric data on the female reproductive organs of the AGR across the seasons.
Este estudio se llevó a cabo para determinar el efecto de las estaciones en los órganos reproductores femeninos de la rata gigante Africana mediante los métodos estándar, con el objetivo de obtener los valores basales. El peso del oviducto/útero, vagina y el órgano tubular completo fueron consistentemente más altos durante harmattan (la estación seca en Nigeria) (0,789 +/- 0,07 g, 2,708 +/- 0,19g y 3,455 +/- 0,25, respectivamente) que la estación seca-calurosa (0,591 +/- 0,02 g, 2.239 +/- 0,13g y 2.831 +/- 0,14, respectivamente) y la estación de lluvias (0,723 +/- 0,04 g, 2,412 +/- 0,01 y 3,148 +/- 0,12 g, respectivamente). La media de peso y longitud del ovario no fueron significativamente diferentes a lo largo de las estaciones, lo que sugiere que la rata gigante africana puede reproducirse durante todo el año. El ligero aumento en el peso del órgano tubular en las estaciones de harmattan (noviembre - febrero) y de lluvias (junio-octubre), sugiere que las estaciones pueden ser favorables para la reproducción, probablemente debido a la abundancia de alimentos disponibles para los roedores silvestres durante estas temporadas. La disminución en el peso de los órganos durante la estación cálida y seca (marzo - mayo) fue, al parecer, debido a las desfavorables condiciones climáticas y la escasez de alimentos durante la estación. En conclusión, los resultados de este estudio proporcionan una línea base de datos morfométricos para los órganos reproductores de la rata gigante africana hembra a través de las estaciones.