THE STRUCTURE OF THE INTESTINAL VILLI OF THE CAMEL "CAMELUS DROMEDARIUS"

The intestinal villi of the camel were examined with the scanning electron microscope, light microscope and transmission electron microscope. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the intestinal villi were short nodular or tongue-shaped in the initial parts of the duodenum. In the jejunum and ascending duodenum they were tall finger - or horn- shaped and were characterized by numerous irregular transverse furrows, which apparently increased the surface area of the intestinal mucosa. The intestinal villi in the ileum were short finger - shaped or dome - shaped. Light and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the villous epithelium contained three different cell types; these were the enterocytes, goblet cells and theliolymphocytes (intraepithelial lymphocytes). The enterocytes were tall columnar and characterized by a wide microvillar brush border, basal oval nuclei, apical mitochondria and apico-lateral junctional complexes. There were two types of enterocytes, dark and light enterocytes. The light enterocytes were few and mostly confined to the villous apex. Theliolymphocytes had pale round or undular nuclei and a pale cytoplasm that often contained large spherical dense bodies. The villar core lamina propria contained a central lacteal surrounded by bundles of smooth muscle fibers and an extensive network of subepithelial blood capillaries. The majority of the cellular elements of the lamina propria were lymphoid cells and unspecific immune system cells such as macrophages, granulocytes and mast cells.