Histological variations in the somatic lymph nodes of young dog and rabbit

ABSTRACT

The somatic lymph nodes [cervical, brachial, axillary, inguinal, popliteal and gluteal] from two animal species; dog and rabbit of one month old were examined microscopically seeking to verify eventual structural variations. The results revealed that the main differences between the somatic nodes of the dog and rabbit were the more compact appearance of the nodes of the latter than those of the former. This was in part due to the predominance of the cortex over the medulla in most of the nodes. The nodes of the dog also showed more thicker capsule and thicker trabeculee. Another prominent variation between the nodes of the two species was the dense reticular stroma in the nodes of the dog. Whereas, in the rabbit the reticular fibers restricted in fine and few amount in the thin trabeculae. There were also variations among the different types of the somatic lymph nodes in the dog and in the rabbit. However, none of these deviations affected the fundamental structure of the lymph nodes. The cervical and gluteal lymph nodes were not observed in the examined dogs