The Iraqi dominant rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) under a stomach-based histological study

Background: The wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is highly present in Iraqi rural regions. Objectives: Due to no histological information regarding the histological characterization of this local rabbit, this study was conducted to identify histological characteristic features of its stomach. Materials and Methods: According to that, ten stomach tissue samples were collected from ten rabbits. These samples were tissue-section-processed, stained using Harris hematoxylin and eosin dyes, and visualized and photo-taken under a light microscope. Results: The gastric wall of the rabbit consisted of a quadric-tunic layer, in to out; mucosa, submucosa, muscularis, and serosa. The inside surface of the stomach was lined by mucosal cells that made an appearance as a tall simple columnar epithelium spread through the pits of the stomach. Moreover, the mucosa displayed three histologically distinct regions based on glandular tissue types (branch-, tubule-, and coil-like appearance) in which these glands were short in the cardiac and pyloric regions. The fundic gland region showed simple long straight branch-like tubular features and revealed mostly mucous secreting cells and less frequent parietal cells in the cardiac and pyloric glands. Furthermore, the fundic gland region consists of different kinds of cells; however, the parietal and chief cells are the highly common cells in this region. Conclusion: Characteristic regions are presents in the gastric mucosa of the rabbit with high distribution of parietal and chief cells in the fundic gland region.