Anatomical and histological examination of kidneys in ground squirrels

Squirrel's kidney histomorphometrical study

Abstract

Introduction: Ground squirrel (Marmotini) is a type of squirrel that, unlike other squirrels, lives on the ground or underground. Kidney is one of the vital organs of the body. Despite the wide distribution of this rodent in Iran, no study has been reported on the histological structure of its kidney. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the histological structure of kidney in ground squirrel.

Methods: In this investigation, we studied five squirrels that were died due to the road accidents. The freshly samples were collected and fixed in 10% formalin solution and after being transferred to the laboratory, the kidney tissue was separated and was studied anatomically. Then, the samples entered the tissue passage stages, and 5-7 µm thick sections were prepared from the paraffin blocks and stained by the hematoxylin-eosin method.

Result: The results of this study showed that the ground squirrel has two kidneys with left and right positions. The right kidney was bean-shaped and the left kidney was heart-shaped and larger than the right kidney. The kidney in this animal is single-lobed and its parenchyma consists of two cortical and central parts. The ratio of the center of the kidney to its cortex is relatively high. The structures in the cortical part included renal corpuscles, proximal and distal convoluted tubules, and cortical collecting tubules. In the central part of the kidney of this animal, the thick and thin tubes of Henle's arch along with the central collecting ducts with simple cubic epithelium were visible.

Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, it seems that the kidney structure in this squirrel is similar to other squirrel families, especially the Iranian squirrel.