Histomorphometric Comparison of Canine and Feline Nictitating
Membranes
Gashaw M Ali1,
Othman J Ali2, Snur MA Hassan1* and OI Dana2
1Department
of Anatomy and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University
of Sulaimani, 4601, KRG/Iraq; 2Department of Surgery and
Theriogenology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of
Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, 4601, KRG/Iraq.
*Corresponding author:
snur.amin@univsul.edu.iq; hassan_snur@yahoo.com
Abstract
The nictitating membrane is a conjunctival fold,
located at the medial canthus of the eyes, it serves to maintain healthy eyes in
domestic animals. This study was conducted on 40 nictitans glands and
cartilages, obtained from 20 clinically healthy local Anatolian Shepherd dogs
and 20 Feral cats. The nictitans membranes were dissected, and macerated using
Potassium hydroxide (KOH), and then the cartilage tissue was stained with Alcian
blue stain. The samples were fixed in 10% neutral buffer formalin for
histological purposes and then prepared for H&E, Verhoeff’s-VanGieson, and Masson
trichrome stains. ImageJ analyzer and AmScopeTM were used for
anatomical and histological morphometrics respectively. The morphometric
analysis revealed a significant difference in the cartilage morphometric
dimensions between dogs and cats in correlation to their ages and weights. Both
species showed a medium to strong positive correlation, but in the dogs, the
cartilage body width had a low positive correlation with age and weight. The
histomorphometric study of both species for the acini, interlobular septa,
intralobular septa, intralobular duct, chondrocyte number, and the capsule was a
significant (P>0.05) variable between species and among different groups also.
We conclude that the nictitans cartilage in dogs was longer and narrower vs. to
the cats, and their nictitans gland was horizontally oval-shaped while
vertically oval-shaped in the cat. The nictitans gland in the dogs was composed
of compound tubuloacinar serous cells that were supported by hyaline cartilage,
whereas the nictitans gland in the cats was made up entirely of compound acinar
units with elastic cartilage.
To Cite This Article:
Ali GM, Ali OJ, Hassan SMA, Dana OI, 2023.
Histomorphometric comparison of canine
and feline nictitating membranes. Pak
Vet J, 43(3): 412-420. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2023.042