Morphology of the ovary of Caiman crocodilus (Crocodylia : Alligatoridae)

We describe the ovarian histology and characterize the folliculogenesis of adult females of Caiman crocodilus in order to compare them with other species of Reptilia. The gonad has a thin irregular cortex and a well-developed reticular stroma, composed of vascularized chordae, drained by large lymph...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Calderon, ML, De Perez, GR, Pinilla, MPR
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2004
País:México
Institución:Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Repositorio:Sistema de Información de la Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.fciencias.unam.mx:11154/1620
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11154/1620
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Anatomy & Morphology
Caiman crocodilus
ovarian histology
follicular development
corpus luteum
Descripción
Sumario:We describe the ovarian histology and characterize the folliculogenesis of adult females of Caiman crocodilus in order to compare them with other species of Reptilia. The gonad has a thin irregular cortex and a well-developed reticular stroma, composed of vascularized chordae, drained by large lymphatic vessels and separated by extensive lacunae. Simple cuboidal to squamous epithelium, dense connective tissue with numerous elastin fibers, and smooth muscle constitute the ovarian wall. This morphology is similar to that of other Crocodylia, Aves and Testudines. Germinal nests are distributed in the ovarian cortex, some of them with oogonia. Oocytes leave the germinal nests with a single layered cuboidal granulosa, remaining simple during vitellogenesis, as in other Archosauria and Testudines and different from Squamata. As the oocyte grows, the theca is formed by numerous fibroblasts, collagen fibers, and smooth muscle fibers, becoming very thick, highly vascularized and developing muscle bands at advanced vitellogenesis. Folliculogenesis shares morphological features with other species of Rep ilia. The corpus luteum is similar to that described for Archosauria