Histological and certain histochemical observations on the labial salivary glands of the buffalo , bubalus bubalis.

Histological ,morphometric and histochemical investigations were carried out on the labial salivary glands of the buffalo. Both the upper and lower labial glands of the buffalo are branched tubuloacinar type and composed of serous acini surrounded by myoepithelial cells. Histochemically it showed seromucous character, they secrete neutral mucopolysaccarides, mucopolysaccarides acid and few sulfated mucop olysaccarides. The labial salivary glands of buffalo posses ductal system of both the intralobular ductules and interlobular ducts. Introduction Many morphological, histological, histochemical and ultrastructural investigations have been performed on the major salivary glands of buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis) , including the parotid salivary glands (1,2,3,4,5).The mandibular salivary glands.(6,5) and the sublingual salivary glands (5).The minor salivary glands have received little attention especially from the histochemical point of view (7,8),and the buffalo minor salivary gland when compared with other animal of rare attention; therefore, the present study is to characterise the histology and histochemistry of the labial salivary gland of the endogenous buffalo and to volumetric proportions of secretory end pieces and its ducts. Materials and Methods Both upper and lower lips were removed immediately after slaughter of 10 adult buffaloes 8-10 years old male and female in the Al-Fudailiya abattoir, then washing the sample with normal saline . The samples which obtained for histological examination where fixed in bouins solution for aboute12 hours then processed in ethyle alcohol 70 % for about 6 hours to remove the colour of picric acid .while the samples which obtained for histochemical examination where fixed in neutral buffer formalin PH 7.0 . Then thoroughly washing in running water and processed for sectioning at 5-6 micrometer thickness. The paraffin sections were stained with hematoxyin-eosin ,masson trichrom ,vanGieson ,modified verhoffes stain for histological examination ;while The Histochemical examination was done by periodic acid schiffe reagent (PAS) and alcian blue PH 2.5 and PH 1 .(9 ,10,11,).The morphometric measurements; were done on diameter of acini, there lumen , height of acinar cells, and the diameter of each duct: intercalated duct, striated duct and excretory duct of upper and lower labial salivary glands were measured by using ocular and stage micrometer according to the (12) .