Comparative histomorphometric study of the various segments of the spinal cord in the adult male and female mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii)

Background: Anatomical and histological studies of the spinal cord have always garnered anatomists’ attention because of their high importance in various fields of veterinary medicine, zoology and behavioral science. OBJECTIVES: This work was conducted to understand the detailed histomorphometric aspects of the spinal cord of Indian gray mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii). METHODS: Six adult Indian grey mongooses in the terminal stages of disease and the status of approaching death were used in the present study. The spinal cords were dissected and fixed in 10% buffer formalin then paraffinized and sections of 6 μm thick were cut and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. In this study, the vertical and transverse diameters of the spinal cord, central canal, the length of the ependymal cells and the ratio of gray matter to white matter in the selected spinal cord segments, were measured with standard micrometric method using light microscope. RESULTS: In male and female mongooses, the longest transverse and vertical diameters of spinal cord segments were observed in the lumbar region. Although this stability and readability of the data were not seen in the transverse and vertical diameters of the central channel. Also, the highest ependymal cells in both sexes were observed in the lumbar region. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that the transverse diameter of spinal cord is larger than the vertical one and the largest measured diameter and ratio of gray matter to white matter were identified in lumbosacral area.