Development of the Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) Metanephros

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.

Abstract

Thirty-seven rabbit embryos at em- bryonic days (E) 10-30 were used to study the morphogenesis of the metanephros by light microscope. The primordium of the metanephros appears at E 12 within the pelvic cavity as a spherical ureteric bud capped by metanephrogenic tissue. The nephrogenic spherules and the renal vesicles develop at E 15 while formation of the renal tubules and differentiation of the glomerular capsule take place at E 16. At E 18, differentiation of the glomerular ca- pillaries occurs and the proximal and distal convoluted tubules are clearly first time demarcated. Positive alkaline phosphatase activity and PAS-positive material are confined to the metanephric corpuscles and the luminal border of the proxi- mal convoluted tubules. In addition, the collecting tubules show large masses of intracytoplasmic PAS- positive granules. The rabbit metanephros is smooth unipapillary with indistinct renal columns and pyramids. It undergoes migration until reaches its permanent position at E 30 where the right metanephros is located opposite to the level of the 2nd – 4th lumbar vertebrae and the left one is situated opposite to the level of the 3rd – 5th lumbar verte- brae. This migration is accompanied by rotation for about 135 degrees resulting in a dorsomedially located hilus. In conclusion, the stages of development of the rabbit metanephros are similar to those in other mammals but they maintain a de- layed sequence.

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