Abstract
Compartment 1 of camel constitutes the largest part of the stomach and plays an important role in the microbial fermentation of the ingesta. The aim of this study was to investigate the histological and histometric changes in the compartment 1 of the one-humped camel during prenatal development. Camel foetuses were collected and divided into the first (below 130 days), second (131- 260 days) and third (261 - 390 days) trimesters. At early stage of gestation (71 days), the wall of the primitive stomach comprised three layers: Stratified epithelium, pluripotent blastemic, and myoblastic tissues. At 89 days of gestation, the first outline of compartment 1 appeared. It displayed four layers: Epithelium, pluripotent blastemic tissues, tunica muscularis and serosa. At 100 days of gestation, compartment 1 differentiated into two regions, glandular and non-glandular. Later (from 115 to 390 days of gestation), the muscular layer of compartment 1 was made up of smooth muscle cells that arranged in two layers, inner circular and outer longitudinal. At 224 to 390 days of gestation, the mucosa of the glandular region was lined by either simple columnar or non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium, while the lining of the non-glandular region was non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium. During the three trimesters, the cells lining the glands in the glandular regions were positive for Periodic acid Schiff stain. The thicknesses of the different layers of compartment 1 significantly (P ≤ 0.001) increased with the foetal development. In conclusion, the present study revealed that the development of compartment 1 of the dromedary camel differs from that of other ruminants.