Late effects of colchicine on the bursa of Fabricius after neonatal application on the anal lips of chickens.

Abstract

One week after the application of colchicine on the anal lips of chickens, the bursa of Fabricius was devoid of lymphoid cells and contained only a few epithelial buds, all of which were later repopulated with lymphoid cells to form mature lymphoid follicles. After the intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide, numerous epithelial buds were found in the bursa, and at the age of six weeks only a few of them were populated with lymphoid cells. On week 6, the bursal weights of the chickens treated with colchicine were only about 10% of the normal, and about 80% of the bursal weights of the cyclophosphamide-treated chickens. The colchicine treatment affected the morphology of the spleen less than the treatment with cyclophosphamide. It is concluded that this new model of chemical bursectomy differs distinctly from the cyclophosphamide model and therefore serves as a new tool in studying bursal function in chicken.