Representation by Percentage of the Tunicae of the Large Arteries in Chinchillas

Abstract

Chinchilla, a small sized rodent, is taxonomically placed in the Mamalia class, Theria subclass, Eutheria clade, Rodentia order, Hystricomorpha suborder, Chinchilidae family, Chinchilla species. The arterial system of this species has few macroscopical descriptions and very fiew microscopical ones. AIMS AND OBJECTIVESThe present study proposed a representation by percentage of the tunics composing the arterial wall in the large arteries of the chinchilla. AbstractChinchilla, a small sized rodent, is taxonomically placed in the Mamalia class, Theria subclass, Eutheria clade, Rodentia order, Hystricomorpha suborder, Chinchilidae family, Chinchilla species. In the wild, it occupies a territory covering the states of Chile, Peru and Argentina, as well as the south region of Bolivia. The biologic material for out study consisted of 5 Chinchilla specimens processed to obtain histological samples.The staining protocol has very well underlined the trilamelar structure of the layers composing the arterial wall. The tunica intima comprises an endothelium, a basement membrane and a subendothelial layer. This tunic outlines the lumen of the arteries. The tunica media is formed by elastic fibers disposed on several circular layers and a certain number of smooth muscle cells in-between them. The external tunic or the tunica adventitia is made up of lax conjunctive tissue. The ratio between tunics of the arterial wall of the great arteries in Chinchillas changes according to the distance from the heart. While the aorta has a very poorly developed tunica adventitia, this layer represents 50% of the arterial wall in the subclavian and external iliac arteries.