A. Franco et al., HISTOMORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE OMASUM OF SHEEP DURING DEVELOPMENT, American journal of veterinary research, 54(8), 1993, pp. 1221-1229
Histomorphometric and scanning electron microscopic analyses were perf
ormed on 74 embryos and fetuses and 20 sheep (early postnatal to adult
age). Histologic differentiation of the omasum took place at 33 days
of fetal life, with the appearance of first-order laminae. Second-, th
ird-, and fourth-order laminae appeared at 39, 50, and 59 days, respec
tively. Neutral mucopolysaccharides first appeared in epithelial cells
at 46 days of fetal life, decreasing quantitatively until birth, befo
re subsequently stabilizing in postnatal life. Acid mucopolysaccharide
s, mucins, and mucoid compounds were not detected. Growth curves and f
ormulas were constructed for each tissue layer. Initial tests involved
multiplicative (y = axb), exponential (y = EXP a + bx!), linear (y =
a bx), and polynomial models (y = a + bx + cx2 + dx3).