W.A. Khamas and A.Y.M. Nour
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
ABSTRACT
Thirteen complete stomachs of adult one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) were collected from the slaughterhouse. They were brought to the laboratory within two hours, cleaned, photographed and fixed in different fixatives for gross, light and electron microscopic studies. Fixation, processing and staining were carried out following standard histological procedures. Additionally, three embalmed, dissected and dried camels were studied and photographed. The stomach of the camel is multilocular compound. The rumen and the considerably reduced reticulum is one compartment (C1) and/are omasum (C2) and abomasum (C3) other two. It was found that all three compartments are glandular. Non-glandular regions were found only in the rumen part of C1.
The peculiar cellulae (previously called water sacs) in the wall are arranged in rows in the dorsal and ventral sacs of the rumen. The gastric groove ventral lip is formed by the right longitudinal pillar, which bounds the ventral part of the dorsal cellulae. The left longitudinal groove and pillar are absent. Histologically, there is no lamina muscularis mucosa in the wall with the exception of the regions of the cellulae where there is a thin smooth muscle layer present.
The omasum was found to have one type of lamellae (laminae) and is lined with simple columnar epithelium and contains simple straight tubular glands in its wall. The abomasum is very extensive and folded inside. The parietal cells were found to be much higher in number when compared to other cell types.
Key words: One-humped camel, peculiarities, stomach