Histomorphology of the stomach mucosa of Emin’s mole rat (<i>Heliophobius emini</i>)

Abstract

Histomorphological structure of the stomach mucosa of Emin‟s mole rats (n=10) was studied at five sampling points along the greater curvature. The first sampling point was at the esophagus-stomach junction and the fifth close to the pyloric sphincter. The stomach mucosa was glandular starting with a very narrow branched tubular mucous gland. Branched and coiled tubular mucous glands were again seen at sampling point three and five. The gastric gland bodies were deepest at sampling point number four. Parietal cells were the principal cells on the gland bodies except at sampling points three and five where mucous cells dominated. Presence of two areas with mucous glands suggests an evolved mechanism of protecting the stomach wall against physical and chemical damages, especially against the indicative highly acidic gastric environment. The large number of parietal cells on the stomach mucosa signifies a decreased gastric pH and very likely indicates a high bactericidal environment in the Emin‟s mole rat.

Key words: histomorphology, gastric mucosa, Emin‟s mole rat