Features of the microstructural organization of the small intestine in weaning piglets

Abstract

The material for the study was fragments of the wall of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum obtained from five piglets at the age of 41 days. The selected tissue samples were fixed during the day in a 10.0% solution of neutral formalin. Their further processing in order to obtain histological sections was carried out according to a generally accepted method. The obtained histological sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and according to Van Gieson. All morphometric data obtained were subjected to statistical processing.It was found that in the studied animals, the small intestine is arranged in accordance with the general plan of structure peculiar to mammals. Its wall is formed by the mucous membrane, submucosal base, as well as muscle and serous mem-branes. The epithelial layer of the mucous membrane of the small intestine is represented by a single-layer prismatic epithelium, which is a highly dynamic structure that quickly reacts to changing loads due to the high rate of cell renewal. The bulk of the epithelial layer is represented by edged enterocytes (about 90.0% of the entire cell population). In addition to them, goblet-shaped, endocrine, Panethovian, proliferating and stem cells take part in the formation of the epithelial lining of the small intestine.