Abstract

Studies were conducted on 164 chicken eggs with embryonic deaths at different stages of incubation viz,4,  6,7 15 and 21 days respectively  to detect the various abnormalities occurring during their development. The study included descriptive examinations and comparisons of chicken embryos in different stages of incubation. Objective of the experiment was to study the changes if any of the selected tissues of chick embryos to lectin binding at various stages of incubation. Specimens for lectin histochemistry were fixed in 10 per cent neutral buffered formalin. Serial sections of 5µm thickness were made. Lectin histochemistry was done using Fluorescein iso-thiocyanate (FITC) conjugated lectin from Ulex europaeus (UEA1) and examined under Fluorescence (Leica DM 2000 LED) microscope with green filter. The lectin Concanavalin A (ConA) was also used for the study. Histochemical studies using FITC-conjugated lectin from Ulex europaeus revealed a general disturbance of epidermal maturation indicated by its binding to all layers of epidermis. Proventriculus exhibited decreased binding by UEA, probably owing to a changed structural and functional status. An increased response to UEA by crypts of Leiberkuhn and goblet cells of duodenum might have been due to the changes in maturation as a result of degenerative changes induced. Even though there was a strong positive reaction in the islets, the reaction was weak in the exocrine part of pancreas indicating a reduced activity of the gland in the dead bird.  A moderate activity in the liver also indicated the relative physiological or degenerative changes that set in after the death. A strong positive reaction to Concanavalin A by the epithelium of nasal cavity and epithelium and cartilages of larynx indicated the slow setting in of degenerative changes in the upper respiratory tract due to lesser activity of enzymes in the area. The neurons and glia of brain did not show any positive reaction to either to UEA or Concanavalin A.

Keywords : Anomalies, chicken, embryos, histochemistry, lectin