Histogenetic and Histochemical Study of the Liver During the Embryonic Period of the Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

The histogenetic study is a useful and practical laboratory method for obtaining basic and effective information in order to reveal the process of histogenesis and development of organs in different stages during the embryonic period. This applied method helps us to understand the formation time of each organ and its tissue structure.

The aim of the present study was to study the histogenesis and histochemistry of the pheasant liver during the embryonic period.

Sixty fertile eggs were placed in the incubator and sampling was performed from day 5 to the end of incubation period. The liver samples were fixed in 10% Buffered Formalin and the slides were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E), Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) and Masson Trichrome (MT).

In this study, liver parenchyma, changes in the hepatocytes and their glycogen storage, as well as the appearance time of canaliculi, biliary ducts, central veins and port spaces were investigated.

Differences in the time of the formation of the organs and structures in various birds relate to different incubation period or species variations. In this research, as the first study on the liver histogenesis of the pheasant, the formation of this organ from the fifth day to the end of the fetal period was examined and it was observed that the evolution and tissue development of the liver is completed until the eighteenth day of incubation period.