Twenty mature and immature male and female Egyptian geese, ranged in age from three to eighteen months, were used in this study. The adrenal glands of the Egyptian geese were
paired organs weighing approximately 200-250 mg (7.5 mg/100 g body weight) and were situated anterior to the kidneys on each side of the dorsal aorta and in ferior vena cava. Each
adrenal gland was surrounded from outside by a connective tissue capsule. The interstitial tissue was rich in blood vessels, collagen, and reticular fibers. The parenchyma cells of the adrenal
gland were arranged in cords especially at sub-capsular zone (SCZ). Thin layers of connective
tissue separated these cords and there were two types of cells: acidophilic and basophilic cells, which intermingle with each other and are separated by sinusoids. The acidophilic cells were
large, polyhedral to columnar in shape, with a highly vacuolated and lightly stained acidophilic cytoplasm; while the cells of inner cords were large columnar and are less vacuolated.
Ultrastructurally, these cells could be classified into two types, according to the amount of lipid droplets and mitochondria: cells that contained numerous lipid droplets with few somewhat large
globular mitochondria, and the other type were cells containing few lipid droplets. Basophilic cells were bluish islets or scattered groups found in-between the acidophilic cells. According to
the shape of the secretory granules, these cells could be classified into two types: cells that contained homogenous, polymorphic electron dense secretory granules, and cells that contained secretory granules of electron dense core surrounded by hallow electron lucent coat. With the increasing the age of the geese, the connective tissue capsule became thick and the interstitial
tissue was increased. The acidophilic cells of the inner zone were more vacuolated and less acidophilic and slightly numerous in the peripheral, acidophilic cells than in those of the inner
zones. The basophilic cells appeared less vacuolated and were smaller.
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