Histomorphological Studies on the Small Intestine of Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

The current study was aimed to explore the histomorphological features of small intestine of quail. The wall of small intestine along the entire length contained only three tunics viz. tunica mucosa, tunica muscularis and tunica serosa from inner to out. The mucosa of the small intestine was thrown into finger like projections known as villi which were finger shaped in duodenum, tongue shaped in jejunum and spatula shaped in ileum. Lamina propria formed the bulk of lumen of villus and contained connective tissue fibres and cells. The shape and pattern of intestinal glands varied in different segments and these were lined by columnar, goblet, enterochromaffin and vacuolated cells. Tunica muscularis presented inner longitudinal, middle circular and outer longitudinal smooth muscle layers. Tunica serosa was predominantly composed of collagen fibres.