Histological Study of Ostrich Skin after Biopsy

IJVS 2013; 8(1); Serial No:18 IRANIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SURGERY (IJVS) WWW.IVSA.IR Histological Study of Ostrich Skin after Biopsy Foroogh Sadat Mansoori1, Sara Dehyadegari2, Mahsa Mohtadi2 Abstract Objective- To investigate histological structure of Ostrich skin was done. Ostrich leathers are of exotic leather types, which are in increasing demand due to their outstanding natural gain patterns formed by large feather follicles on the leather surface. Animals-Ten mature ostriches were selected from ostrich breeding center in Jupar, Kerman, Iran, all of which were in good shape and healthy condition. Procedure- For this study, some samples of ostrich skin were made from ostriches aged about 1 year old.0.5 * 0.5 cm sample of different areas of skin was made and kept in 10% formalin solution for 7 days; then, the samples were taken out. Routine histological techniques were done and 6 micron-thickness sections were cut. The sections were stained with standard Haematoxilin and Eosin (H&E) and masson trichrome and Periodic acid-Sciff(pas). The histological study was done using a light microscope and the photographs were taken for detailed illustration of the results. Results- Microscopic studies showed that the skin consisted of 2 different layers as epidermis and dermis. Epidermis consisted of the following different groups of cells, form depth to surface: basal cell – granular cell – chondrocyte shape cells and keratin cells. Dermis consisted of a dense connective tissue with both regular and irregular fibers in which the irregular part was near the epidermis. Conclusions and clinical relevance- The results of this study suggested that ostrich’s skin in either dermis or epidermis is very different from other domesticated animals; and the development of dermal connective tissue makes this skin a good model for studying wound healing and skin grafting. Key words: Ostrich, skin, Histology. Indeed, while production of leather and fur products decreased between 1975 and 1992 in developed countries, it increased in the developing world from 4.4% (1975–1985) to 5.3% (1985–1992) (14).and this trend was expected to continue.3 Small economies like Kenya and Ethiopia may not affect global business cycles and the specific factors for improving leather industry, such as enhancing value-addition to the leather production process, encouraging uptake and effective use of cleaner technologies to improve product quality and diversifying finished leather products, respond to policy entrepreneurship by various stakeholders involved in leather industry.2Behzat Oral Bitlisli conducted a study and found that neck, leg and back sides of ostrich skins differed physically and chemically from each other. In terms of area and strength characteristics of leathers, back and leg sides were appropriate for upper leather production whereas neck sides could be used for accessories.4 He found that ostrich skins were heavier than sheep and goat skins but lighter than calf and cattle hides.4 This work aimed to detect some characteristics of ostrich skins which were valuable for leather industry. Introduction Ostrich leathers are of exotic leather types, which are in increasing demand due to their outstanding natural gain patterns formed by large feather follicles on the leather surface.1 Approximately, 700,000 ostrich skins are introduced to the global market every year, out of which 300,000 are obtained from South Africa. It is evident that ostrich skins have a small share of market compared to the nearly 330 million hides and 850 million skins, which constitutes the raw material for leather industry in the world.1 Leather industry produces a range of indispensable consumer goods including footwear, garments, handbags and luggage.2 1Department of Basic Science, School of Veterinary, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman,Kerman, Iran. 2Graduate Studant of Veterinary, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman,Kerman, Iran. Address all correspondence to Dr. Foroogh Sadat Mansoori (DVM, PhD) E-mail: 53 IJVS 2013; 8(1); Serial No:18 consisted of several keratinized cells. The outermost strata tended to break away from the surface in flakes and gave rise to the dry scurfy appearance of the skin. Value of epidermis thickness in the feather’s follicle area was very thin (Fig.1). Stratum basal consisted of basophilic nucleus and very little cytoplasma. The line between epiderm and derm was not very folded. The dermis consisted of dense connective tissue and was clearly observed in staining. Two models of fibers were visible; both of them were collagen and elastic. All areas of dermis were made up of dense connective tissues; but definitely, in its deep part (about one forth of thickness of total tissue), the dense regular connective tissue was visible and they were parallel to skin surface. At the dermal-epidermal junction, the basal layer of cells were placed on the basal lamina, consisting of a thin layer of fine filamentouce.5 (Masoltsy 1969) in dermal layer, the dense connective tissue in masson trichrome were green and pink. Also, there were many vessels which were small arteriols. Nerves: The mutual nerves were in the dermis. There was a circular shape. (Fig.4) on the line between papillar and reticular, there was an organization which gave the corpuscle a crosssectional appearance, like that of an onion. One of them was between two follicles and was so large. It had small arteriol and was right on top of papillary region. It was ladder-like cross-striation in routine haematoxilin and eosin preparations. (Fig.5) Materials and methods Ten mature ostriches were selected from ostrich breeding center in Jupar, Kerman, Iran, all of them were in good shape and healthy condition. The ostriches were obtained from a slaughterhouse for getting samples from the skin of body, back of head and between two eyes. These samples were transmitted to Histotechnic Laboratory of Veterinary Faculty. Their heads were kept in 10% formalin solution for 7 days and this formalin was changed every day. The samples were cut into 1*1 cm very carefully in order not to be hurt at dermal layer. They were placed in 10% solution of neutral-buffered formalin which consisted of 10 volumes of commercial formalin (40% formaldehyde in water) and 90 volumes of phosphate-buffered water for 24 h; then, their formalin solution was changed and, after fixation, 1 cm segment was dissected from each part and sections of 6 micron thickness were prepared from the samples through routine histological techniques .Then, all of the samples were numbered and put in the tissue process system. The sections were stained with standard Haematoxilin and Eosin (H&E), masson trichrome (for the connective tissue) and Periodic acid-Sciff for protein granules. The histological study was done using a light microscopy and the photographs were taken for detailed illustration of the results. Results Microscopic studies showed that skin consisted of two distinguish layers; (...truncated)