Light and electron microscopical study of the effect of oestrogen on the chicken oviduct.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Oviducts from 20 one-day old chickens were used. Ten chickens were injected subcutaneously with 0.2 mg oestradiol for 5 days, the remaining ones serving as controls. The chickens were fixed by an aortic perfusion with 2.5% glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer, pH 7.2. The treatment with oestrogen resulted in the following changes: general increase in oviduct length and thickness, differentiation of the epithelial membrane into three cell types: basal, apical and gland cells, increase in the number of cilia in the apical cell, probably due to a new production of cilia, formation of secretory granules in the vaginal epithelium as seen by light microscopy, formation of proteinlike secretory granules in the apical cell as seen by electron microscopy, increase in protein synthesis, observed as an augmentation of the endoplasmic reticulum.