[Effects of low temperatures on the concentration of erythrocytes in newts during winter].
In winter time, specimens of Triturus cristatus carnifex kept at temperature of 5 degrees C show a decrease in the concentration of circulating erythrocytes and marked hypertrophy of the spleen, in comparison to animals raised at 15 degrees C. Thanks to their capacity to accumulate a large number of erythrocytes in the spleen, newts can switch from their condition of a seasonal hyperactivity, maintained by a high concentration of circulating erythrocytes, to hibernation. This is the reason why red blood cell counts made an freshly collects animals during the winter are extremely heterogeneous.
D000818:Animals; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004906:Erythrocyte Count; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012455:Salamandridae / Q000502:physiology*; D012621:Seasons; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology
Effetti della bassa temperatura sulla concentrazione degli eritrociti del tritone nel periodo invernale.