Fig. 8. Histology of the mucosal epithelium of snakes fed once a week. (A)
Methacrylate-embedded section of the small intestine; Methylene Blue/Thionine
stain. Scale bar, 50µm (same magnification as Figs
6A and
7A). The mucosal epithelium has
an intermediate configuration compared with Figs
6A and
7A with two layers of nuclei,
few lipid droplets, reduced lacteals and reduced numbers of capillaries. (B)
Histology as in A (same magnification as
Fig. 6B). Scale bar, 25µm.
(C) Low-power electron micrograph of transitional epithelium. Note the small
lipid droplets (arrows) in the apical part of the enterocytes. Scale bar, 5
µm. (D) High-power electron micrograph of microvilli. Compare with
Fig. 6D, which was taken at
same magnification. Scale bar, 0.5µm.
