A Gross and Histomorphologic Study of Chick Pancreas

Background: Pancreas is a very vital organ because it suffers from two main diseases: diabetes mellitus and pancreatic cancer. The avian pancreas shares some similarities with mammals. By having sound knowledge of the anatomy of chick pancreas, different studies can be performed to know the pathogenesis and treatment of these diseases. Therefore, the present research was conducted to study the gross anatomy of pancreas and histo-morphological distribution of cells responsible for release of glucagon & insulin. Methodology: This study was conducted on 28 newly hatched chicks. The chicks were dissected on hatching. The pancreata of chicks were dissected out. The gross features of pancreas were recorded in terms of appearance, color, shape and number of lobes along with their orientation. For general histology, sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H & E) and for pattern of distribution of cells by aldehyde fuchsin and orange G- light green by the method described by Halmi. Results: This study showed that chick pancreas is composed of 4 distinct morphological lobes. The glandular tissue was subdivided into exocrine part and endocrine part similar to human.  The pattern of distribution of cells by aldehyde fuchsin and orange G- light green method showed that the exocrine part formed acini and endocrine part formed islets which were further subdivided into alpha, beta and mixed types. The distribution of islets in different pancreatic lobes was not uniform. The alpha islets were found almost exclusively in the ‘splenic’ and ‘third’ lobes whereas beta islets were evenly distributed throughout the pancreas. Conclusion: The chick pancreas showed many similarities with the pancreas of mammals so it can be used as an effective model for different studies in medical field.