SEX-BASED DIFFERENCES IN GROSS MORPHOMETRY AND MICROSCOPY OF THE PANCREAS OF JAPANESE QUAIL (Coturnix japonica)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26873/SVR-2276-2026Keywords:
endocrine and exocrine pancreas, histomorphometry, Japanese quail, pancreatic ducts, sex differencesAbstract
The pancreas is a very important organ in all mammals including birds, which is involved in digestion and metabolism, yet little is known about structural differences between male and female birds. Forty adult (20 males and 20 females) Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were used to analyze the morphometrical and histological differences between the pancreatic lobes. The gross anatomical results showed that both sexes have four lobes: dorsal, ventral, third, and small splenic lobe. Morphometric analysis revealed that the dorsal lobe was significantly heavier and wider in females than in males, suggesting possible sex-linked metabolic adaptations while differences in the dimensions of the ventral and third lobes were not significant. The exocrine tissue showed no differences between males and females, maintaining a consistent structure similar to other birds. However, the endocrine portion, particularly the number of islets of Langerhans, revealed sex-specific differences where females had significantly more islets in the dorsal lobe than the males, whereas males had slightly more but not significantly higher number of islets in the ventral lobe than females. Additionally, the pancreatic ductal system exhibited similar structural features in both sexes, starting from centroacinar cells to the main pancreatic duct with evidence of mucin production by the ductal epithelium observed throughout the ducts despite of the absence of the goblet cells. These findings highlight the variations in morphometry and histology of the quail pancreas between sexes, offering new perspectives on avian physiology and potential metabolic differences. This research lays the basis for further studies on the functional implications of these histomorphometrical distinctions in health and disease.
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