Rasha E Abo-Eleneen, Ahlam M El- Bakry and Ahmed M Abdeen
The ultrastructural difference of the alimentary tract of the insectivore, Scincus scincus and the carnivore, Natrix tesstellata was described by using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The oesophagus of S. scincus with many prominent longitudinal folds while in N. tessellata it has many primary longitudinal folds and secondary ramification. The oesophageal epithelium of both species has numerous goblet cells. The mucosal epithelial cells in both species contain large nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes and some vacuoles. Stomach had a meshwork of primary folds in S. scincus and it forms various folds forming many discrete, irregular pockets in N. tessellata. The mucosal cells in the stomach of S. scincus have many secretory granules while in N. tessellate it provided with numerous mucinogen granules in the gastric columnar cells. In S. scincus, the intestinal mucosa with many primary folds but it appeared as longitudinal secondary mucosal folds in Zig-Zag pattern enclosing a number of concavities in N. tessellata. The intestinal mucosal cells in both species consisted of regularly formed microvilli. There were numerous goblet cells in the intestine of both species. In conclusion, structural variation of the alimentary tract in the two species examined was related to difference in feeding habits.
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