HISTOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE RAT CRANIAL REGION

Purpose: This study was to ascertain the histological evaluation of some organs in the cranial region of newborn Wistar albino rats, such as the tongue, palate, and Steno's gland in the nasal cavity, compared to adult rats. Methods: 5 healthy female newborn Wistar albino rats were used in the study. Tissues obtained from rats were fixed in 10% formalin for 2 days. The histological features of the tongue, palate and nasal cavity were revealed after Hematoxylin&eosin and Mallory’s Azan stainings. Results: While there was fatty tissue in the submucosa layer in the ventral section of the soft palate, mucus glands were observed in the dorsal section. The main papillae were filiform and fungiform, and scattered foliate and circumvallate papillae were also present. The lateral nasal glands (Steno’s glands) were well developed. In general, there were four ethmoturbinates in coronal and sagittal sections in the posterosuperior part of the unilateral sinus in adults, whereas there were two in neonatal rats. Unusually, a septal window was visible immediately rostral to the nasopharynx in the mouse, however, no septal window was observed in newborn rats. Conslusion: This study reports basic research features on the anatomy of the oral and nasal cavity of the newborn Wistar albino rat. Our data may shed light on other studies aimed at fully investigating the structure of these organs, which may be useful in subsequent experimental and morphological studies on newborn Wistar albino rats.