Histological And Histochemical Study Of The Digestive Tract Of The Worm-Like Reptile*, Diplometopon Zarudnyi (Squamata)

Abstract

The structure of the digestive tract of Diplometopon zarudnyi was studied by means of light microscopic histology and PAS reaction. The oesophagus is lined with stratified columnar epithelium while the stomach is lined with mucous columnar epithelium. The small intestine is lined with brush-border absorptive columnar cells and goblet cells, while the large intestine is lined with mucous pyramidal cells and larger goblet cells with an extreme layer of mucin lining. The oesophageal and gastric mucosae are uniformly PAS positive . In both the large and small intestine, goblet cells are normal with large amounts of mucin granules. The muscular layer varies in structure being only longitudinal in the oesophagus, thin longitudinal and circular in stomach and more thick in the large intestine.