Author : Feranil, Jun B.

Summary : The histological and histochemical features of the oviduct of laying were described and compared with the incubating and brrooding Philippine native chickens . The general histology of the oviduct was the same in all the three groups of birds. Mucosal folds were present in the entire oviduct in all the three groups but were most numerous and extensive in the uterus or shell gland and least prominent in the infundibulum. Various patterns of mucosal folds in each oviductal segment were noted e.g. tall and short in the infundibulum, very broad in the magnum, broad with epithelial folds and crypts in the isthmus, long and tortuous in the uterus, and tall with secondary folds in the vagina.There was a lamina propriatunica submucosa because of the absence of muscularis mucosa. As expected, the lamina propria-submucosa of the entire oviduct contained tubular glands. In the vagina, these glands were called sperm host glands or sperm storage tubules. Two types of lining epithelium were noted, namely (a) simple columnar ciliated cells which was present in the infundibulum, and (b) pseudostratified columnar ciliated cells in the magnum, isthmus, uterus and vagina. The tunica muscularis was most developed in the vagina and least developed in the infundibulum. the histochemical findings suggest that the epithelial cells of the oviduct produce substances, other than the albumen, shell membranes and shell needed in egg formation. earlier reports can support the results of the present work suggesting that the morphology and histochemical components of the oviduct can be influenced by the reproductive stage of the chickens.