Histological Study On The Prenatal Development Of The Fundus Of The Stomach In Albino Rat

The aim of this work was to determine the epithelial cellular differentiation and the time of the appearance of glands of the fundic wall prenatally by using light microscope.A total number of 25adult male and female albino rats of the same strain were used in this study. The females were mated with the males and vaginal smears were examined on the following morning to determine the first day of pregnancy. The pregnant females were housed in plastic cages under light–dark cycles of 12 hr.The pregnant females were sacrificed and twenty five rat embryos aged between 17 to 21 days of pregnancy were taken and placed in formalin and divided into five groups: A, B, C, D and E. Each group contained five premature albino rats obtained from a dated pregnant rat on the 17th, 18th,19th ,20th and 21st days of gestation. The abdomens of the embryos were opened under sterile conditions and stomachs were excised at the esophageal and pyloric junctions. Whole stomachs were fixed in 10% neutral formaldehyde (pH 7.2) for 24 hours then the slices were prepared to be stained with Hematoxlin and Eosin (H&E) to demonstrate the general structure of the fundus of the stomach, and Mallory’s trichrome to demonstrate collagen fibers.The wall of the fundic region of the rat stomach is markedly developed by the 17th day prenatally and is formed of four layers mucosa, submucosa, musculosa and serosa.