The Spleen Morphology of the African Giant Pouch Rat (Cricetomys Gambianus-Waterhouse1840) from Eastern Nigeria

The spleen morphology of the African Giant pouch rat from the rainforest vegetative region of Nigeria was investigated to establish is basic biology as there dearth of information on it from available literature. Grossly, the spleen was shaped like an elongated triangle, with the two ventral sides of the triangle forming a hilus at the apex of their both convergence. This hilus served as the site of entry and exist of blood vessels and nerves. Microscopically, the spleen was covered by a capsule of connective tissue. The parenchyma was composed mainly of red pulp and isolated areas of white pulp. The red pulp contained splenic cords, sinusoids and other vessels. The white pulp contained the periarteriolar lymphatic sheath which presented a germinal centre, marginal zone and eccentrically located artery surrounded by small lymphocytes. The microanatomy of the spleen revealed an organ involved in blood storage, blood purification and body immune response. This paper will fill the knowledge gap and serve as baseline data for further investigative research.

Keywords: Spleen, histology, red pulp, white pulp, blood storage.