MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ULTRASTRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF RACCOON DOG LIVER UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MELATONIN

The use of melatonin in animals requires additional research. Exogenous melatonin is used in fur farming to accelerate wool maturation. However, its effect on the internal organs and tissues of fur-bearing animals has not been sufficiently studied. Pathologies of internal organs are accompanied by biochemical, metabolic, oxidative and inflammatory processes that affect cell ultrastructure. Using electron microscopy, the ultrastructure of the liver of raccoon dogs implanted with melatonin granules was described. The study revealed the occurrence of dystrophic and oxidative processes in the liver of raccoon dogs that were implanted with the drug Melacryl. At the same time, high secretory activity and regenerative processes in liver cells were observed. In the study group of raccoon dogs, a study of the ultrastructural organization of the liver under the influence of exogenous melatonin was conducted. During the study, the following measurements of intracellular structures were carried out: the area of hepatocytes, their nuclei and nucleoli, the nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio, the area of mitochondria and glycogen granules. The surrounding elements were described: blood filling of the vessels, the state of the Disse’s space. During the morphometric evaluation of the liver of raccoon dogs, the number of normal (NH) and dystrophic altered (DH) hepatocytes, as well as the parenchyma normalization coefficient (PNC), were determined. Normal cells include cells that have a well-differentiated nucleus, a formed nucleolus, and intact cytoplasm. Dystrophic altered cells include cells with altered nuclei and cytoplasm, as well as nuclear-free cells. The number of NH was 70.45 ± 3.87%, and the number of DH was 29.55 ± 3.87%. The PNC value was 2.474 ± 0.52 conventional units. Thus, the presence of dystrophic changes was revealed in the liver parenchyma.