A gross anatomical and histological study of pancreas in adult Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Abstract

Fifteen Kestrel were used in this study regardless to their sex. The results study showed that the pancreas of adult Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) lies under the right side of the peritoneal cavity, and situated between the descending part and ascending part of the duodenum and has pale pinkish to white pinkish colored and consisted of 3 lobes dorsal (lobus pancreatic dorsalis), middle (middle pancreatic lobus) and ventral (lobus pancreatis ventralis) with well-developed interlobar connections made it difficult to distinguish between the 3 lobes. Histologically the pancreas of adult Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) was covered by very thin layer of connective tissue with mesothelial cells, Connective tissue septa extended from capsule into parenchyma of pancreas dividing it in to many lobules. These septa were very thin and some of them carried blood vessels distributed all over the pancreas. The exocrine portion was constituted from serous acini with pyramidal shaped cells which had dark rounded nucleus in the middle part of the cell. Acidophilic granules found in the apices of cells. Centro acinar cells found as one or two nuclei in the center of the pancreatic acini. The endocrine portion (islets of Langerhans) was formed from clusters of endocrine cells in shape of oval or rounded pale structures with different sizes. The small one has mean diameter of 40.02±0.9 µm while the large one has diameter of 126.3±3.8 µm. Few endocrine cells were seen distributed as single cells among the pancreatic acini.