histological and histochemical study of the gender variability of albino rat submandibular glands at different postnatal ages

ABSTRACT

The present work was done to study the histological, histochemical and morphometric gender changes in the rat submandibular salivery glands [SMG] at different ages including young adult and elderly. Histological study of the SMG of young male age showed secretory units [acini] and striated ducts. In young female glands, there were two types of acini, one with lightly stained cytoplasm and nuclei, while the other with darkly stained cytoplasm and nuclei. In adult age group, the male SMG showed larger and more frequent granular convoluted tubules [GCT], whereas, the acinar cells were smaller and less frequent in comparison with the adult female SMG. With aging, the acini and ducts showed signs of degeneration as distortion in the shape and reduction in the size. Their cells showed pyknotic nuclei and vacuoles in the cytoplasm. The morphometric study of the SMG revealed that the count of the GCT cells in males was significantly higher than that in females in the adult and elderly age groups. With aging, the collagen fibers increased while the elastic fibers decreased. Collagen fibers were much more in the female SMG than in the male SMG at all ages studied. Histochemically, mucosubstance in the acini was mainly of the neutral type in young and adult age groups of both sexes. It became of the type and reduced with aging, the intensity of the reaction for the mucosubstance was relatively less in the male acini than that in the female acini. The intensity of the alkaline phosphatas reaction was relatively more in young female SMG than that in the male. In adult and elderly groups, the intensity of the reaction was relatively the same in both sexes and it was reduced with aging