Age Related Histoarchitectural Studies on the Adrenal Gland of Goat (Capra hircus)

Background: Adrenal gland is an important endocrine gland that secrets several hormones that play a key role in the adaptation of the newborn to extra uterine life. The study was conducted to explore the histomorphological development of adrenal glands in Gohilwadi Goat (Capra hircus). Methods: The research work was carried out on twenty pair of goat adrenal gland collected from local abattoir. The animals were divided into three age groups, viz. group- I (day old to 1 month), group- II ( greater than 1 month to 6 months) and group- III ( greater than 6 months). Result: Histological observations revealed that the gland was fully differentiated into cortex and medulla, completely surrounded by a dense fibrous capsule in the day old goats. In group- I, adrenal cortex was made up of definite and foetal cortex, whereas former one comprised of zona glomerulosa and zona fasciculata only. Small to elongate foetal cortical cells were characterized by eosinophilic cytoplasm and arranged into irregular cords. In group II, the foetal cortex disappeared and only definite cortex was present with well-developed three zones i.e. Zona glomerulosa, zona fasciculata and Zona reticularis. Zona glomerulosa was the smallest of the three cortical zones and thickness increased from group-I to group-III. The zona fasciculata was the largest among the three cortical zones in all the age groups and thickness increased from group-I to group-III. Zona reticularis was well organized in the adrenal gland of adult Gohilwadi goat. Medulla occupied greater proportion of the gland and inner medullary cells were the main cellular constituent of medulla. Thickness of medulla increased from group-I to group-III.