Morphology of the cataract in albino mutant quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica).
Morphological changes in cataractous albino quail lens were studied by light microscopy. In some animals, a pin-head opacity in the lens could first be detected with the naked eye 2 months after hatching. Faint anterior or posterior cortical opacity was observed in many lenses at 3 months of age. Most lenses had turned opaque 12 months after hatching. Lens dimensions were markedly enlarged at 6 months of age. Vacuoles were present in the posterior surface just beneath the capsule and equatorial epithelium, before the cells became degenerative. Many swollen lens fibers and abnormally migrated cells were observed in the posterior cortical region. The lens was covered with several layers of epithelioid cells in the mature cataract.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002386:Cataract / Q000473:pathology*; D003370:Coturnix; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000473:pathology*; D009154:Mutation; D011784:Quail; D014617:Vacuoles