Bm. Mcallan et al., SEASONAL-CHANGES IN THE RENAL MORPHOMETRY OF ANTECHINUS-STUARTII (MARSUPIALIA, DASYURIDAE), Australian journal of zoology, 44(4), 1996, pp. 337-354
The renal morphology of Antechinus stuartii was examined in males and
females in February, May, July and August. Kidney mass was higher in m
ales than females, although the reverse was true when adjusted for bod
y mass. The predicted kidney mass and kidney size calculated from allo
metric equations were significantly larger than the actual values in m
ales from August, although at other times and for females these values
were not different. Relative medullary thickness, percentage medullar
y thickness and medullary thickness were not different between seasons
or sexes. Both superficial and juxtamedullary glomerular volumes incr
eased in July and August in males and this coincided with a reduction
in glomerular number per mm(2) of cortex. In general, tubular diameter
s increased in males in July and August, but not in females. The same
was true of cellular volumes from the same sections of the nephron. Th
e renal morphological changes in the males correlate with the life his
tory and endocrine changes of A. stuartii.