title: The morphology of the pineal gland of the yellow-toothed cavy (Galea Spixii Wagler, 1831) and red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta leporina linnaeus, 1758).
abstract: The pineal gland is an endocrine gland found in all mammals. This article describes the morphology of this important gland in two species of Caviideae, namely the yellow-toothed cavy and the red-rumped agouti. Ten adult animals of the two species used in current analysis were retrieved from the Center for the Multiplication of Wild Animals (CEMAS/UFERSA) and euthanized. The glands were removed and photographed in situ and ex situ. They were fixed in a paraformaldehyde solution 4% or glutaraldehyde 2.5% solution and submitted to routine histological techniques respectively for light and scanning electron microscopy. Macroscopically, the pineal gland with its elongated structure may be found between the cerebral hemispheres facing the rostral colliculi. Microscopically, pinealocytes and some glia cells were predominant. Contrastingly, to the cavy's pineal gland, a capsule covered the organ in the agouti, with the emission of incomplete septa to the interior, which divided it into two lobules. Light and scanning electron microscopes failed to show calcareous concretions in the pineal gland. Based on the topography of the cavy's and agouti's pineal gland, it may be classified as supra-callosum and ABC type.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi-Árido, Costa E Silva, Mossoró, 59625900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Felipe Venceslau
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Câmara
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi-Árido, Costa E Silva, Mossoró, 59625900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Igor Renno Guimarães
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi-Árido, Costa E Silva, Mossoró, 59625900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gleidson Benevides
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi-Árido, Costa E Silva, Mossoró, 59625900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ferdinando Vinicius Fernandes
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi-Árido, Costa E Silva, Mossoró, 59625900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Radan Elvis Matias
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi-Árido, Costa E Silva, Mossoró, 59625900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos Magno
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Oliveira Júnior
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi-Árido, Costa E Silva, Mossoró, 59625900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre Rodrigues
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi-Árido, Costa E Silva, Mossoró, 59625900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Moacir Franco
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010781:Photography; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D012377:Rodentia / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Rodentia; endocrine gland; microscopy; neural epiphysis