Comparative stereological study of granular and striated ducts in mandibular glands in Wistar and Brown Norway rats

Abstract

Mandibular glands in adult rats contain granular ducts, derived from the striated ones, which enrich the saliva with different components. The aim of our study was to conduct a comparative stereological study of the striated and granular ducts in two rat strains (albino Wistar and Brown Norway). With this purpose in view, we harvested salivary glands from 5 animals from each strain in part and histologically processed them. We analyzed fields with the total surface of 1699510 μm2 with the aid of AmScope software and the statistical analysis was performed with GraphPad Prism 6.01 program. The results showed that in both species, the number of sections through the granular ducts is higher than the one of striated ducts and the total surface occupied by the granular ducts is higher than the one occupied by the striated ones. The statistical analysis revealed the fact that there are no significant differences between the number of striated or granular ducts from one species to another, nor between the surface occupied by each type of duct (striated or granular) on the sections taken into study in the two rat strains. Thus, the mandibular gland in Wistar and Brown Norway rat resemble one another regarding the surface occupied by the striated and granular ducts and also the number of the two types of ducts on the section taken into study.