Pulmonary development in the fetal one-humped camel: morphometry

• Published in: Annals of anatomy 1998-12, Vol.180 (6), p.573-585
• Main Authors: Sayed, Ramadan, Atoji, Yasuro, Kamel, Gamal, Moneim, Mohamed A., Yamamoto, Yoshio, Suzuki, Yoshitake
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aging; Animals; Body Constitution; Camel fetus; Camelus - anatomy & histology; Camelus - embryology; Camelus - growth & development; Development; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Female; Heart - anatomy & histology; Lung; Lung - anatomy & histology; Lung - embryology; Lung - growth & development; Male; Morphometry; Organ Size; Pulmonary Alveoli - anatomy & histology; Regression Analysis; Sex Characteristics
• ISSN: 0940-9602; 1618-0402
• DOI: 10.1016/S0940-9602(98)80070-8

The structural development of the fetal camel lung is described and quantified morphometrically in this report. During fetal development the lung weight and volume increased polynomially with body length. The correlation coefficient between lung weight and body length is +0.991, and between lung volume and body length is +0.995. Volume density of the future bronchial tree showed a progressive increment with gestational age and is relatively higher in male than female fetuses, and the differences are statistically significant at 340–420 mm CRL. The proportion of lung tissue occupied by saccular airspaces increased enormously during the canalicular and alveolar stage, and the differences between both sexes are statistically significant at the former stage. The number of alveoli per unit area correlates closely with body length (r = + 0.928) and the correlation coefficient between alveolar diameter and body length is +0.991. On the other hand, the correlation coefficient between the number of alveolar ducts per unit area and body length is -0.993, and is about +0.977 between the diameter of alveolar ducts and body length.