The Use of the Optical Fractionator to Estimate the Total Number of Ependymal Cells of the Spinal Cord in Leghorn

WOS: 000302228400023The aim of this study was to estimate the number of ependymal cells in the spinal cord of Leghorn chicks using optical fractionator technique. Forty weeks old six female and six male Leghorn were used. Animals were anesthetized by administration of xylazineketamine combination and euthanasia was carried out. Saline solution was administered to the animals for draining blood completely from the body. Ten percent formalin saline solution was used as a fixative. Decalcification was performed on dissected vertebral columns using Trichloroacetic acid. Spinal cords were removed from vertebral columns and measured. All cords were cut 1 cm in length, 10 and 11 systematic random sampled tissue samples with a sampling ratio of 1/3 were taken from females and males respectively. One transversal section was taken from each of tissue samples at the thickness of 10 mu m. Optical fractionator was performed on sections to estimate the total number of ependymal cells in the cord. It was found that male Leghorns had more ependymal cells than female Leghorns. The maximum number of ependymal cells was found in the caudal part whereas the minimum number of cells was observed in cervical part of the spinal cord in female. Male animals showed a homogeneous distribution of the ependymal cells. It was thought that sex difference must be considered in studies on spinal cord of Leghorn

Selective Gray and White Matter Staining of the Horse Spinal Cord

Selcuk, Muhammet Lutfi/0000-0002-9915-3829WOS: 000302198700013The ratio of gray and white matter is an important clinical parameter in the diagnosis of diffuse and compressive diseases of the spinal cord. Although histological methods are used to determine this parameter, there are some difficulties encountered in histological studies related to tissue size. The aim of this study was to evaluate possible modifications to overcome these difficulties. In the study, nine tissue samples taken from the C6 segment of a female Shetland pony and selected by systematic random sampling were used. The dehydration process of the spinal cord of the horse was supported by applying a vacuum. Paraffin blocks were prepared and cut into 10 pm sections to be stained separately with the different staining methods. Six different staining methods, including Modified May - Grunwald - Giemsa (MMGG), were compared and used to image entire slides. The stains, Hematoxylin & eosin (H&E), May-Grunwald-Giemsa (MGG), Masson's trichrome (MT), AgNORs, Kluver Barrera (KB) and MMGG, were evaluated macroscopically and microscopically by participants who were unaware of which staining methods had been used. The staining methods were scored from worst (1) to best (5) using a Likert scale. Vacuum application was found to reduce the difficulties related to inadequate tissue dehydration. MMGG was selected as the best staining method in differentiating gray and white matter in the spinal cord of the horse