STRUCTURE AND HISTOCHEMICAL ORGANIZATION OF THE SPLEEN OF AGAMA-STELLIO (SAURIA, AGAMIDAE) AND CHALCIDES-OCELLATUS (SAURIA, SCINCIDAE)

The spleen of Agama stellio is composed mainly of red pulp; the white pulp is poorly developed, and its clusters are scattered throughout th e organ and contain lymphocytes, reticular cells, and some plasma cell s. The red pulp consists of clear reticular cells intermingled with bl ood cells, sinusoids, and pigment cells. The spleen of Chalcides ocell atus is encapsulated by connective tissue and is composed of white and red pulp. The white pulp consists of lymphoid tissue that surrounds t he central arterioles, forming the periarteriolar lymphocyte sheath (P ALS). The red pulp is composed of a system of venous sinuses and cords . The results of various histochemical procedures designed to demonstr ate mucosubstances, proteins, and nucleic acids indicate that the sple en in these species resembles the mammalian spleen.