Electron microscopic studies on the nervous layer of the eye in donkeys

Abstract

The microanatomy of the donkey eye is important to understand because pathological disorders affecting them are relatively common. The current study aimed to document the cellular components of donkey's retinae using light and electron microscopic studies. Ten donkey retinae were dissected and processed for semi-thin sections and electron microscopic studies. The photoreceptor layer was made up of the outer and inner segments of rods and cones. The outer segments were filled with invaginations of cell membranes that form stacks of membranous disks. Shed discs of photoreceptor outer segments could be seen in the photoreceptor layer as well as near the Müller cells. The inner segments of cones were conical in shape, while those of rods were slim rod-shaped. Both were filled with long thin mitochondria and free ribosomes. Three rows of photoreceptor cell nuclei made up the outer nuclear layer. The rod nuclei had more electron-dense chromatin than those of the cones. There were two rows of cell nuclei in the inner nuclear layer that represent the following four cell classes: horizontal cells, bipolar cells, amacrine cells, and Müller cells. Bipolar cells constitute the bulk of the inner nuclear layer. They were elongated in shape and had thick branched dendrites. Amacrine cells were in the inner face of the INL. It could be observed within IPL and known as displaced amacrine cells. Muller glial cells were irregular elongated in shape with many cytoplasmic processes. They were distributed in the INL among the bipolar cells. Müller cells were observed in the inner plexiform layer, the ganglion cell layer, and the nerve fiber layer.  In conclusion, this study characterized the detailed cytological organization and ultrastructure of the healthy donkey retina. which maintains the fundamental laminar architecture characteristic of other mammalian retinas, and consists of 10 distinguishable layers. When compared to previously described retinal morphologies in domestic species, some distinctive characters were observed in donkey retinal cells.