MICROANATOMY OF THE UTERINE WALL OF FEMALE WISTAR RATS ACROSS THEIR DEVELOPMENTAL AGES; PRE-PUBERTAL, PUBERTAL AND POST-PUBERTAL

The uterus is a vital organ in the female reproductive system, responsible for menstruation, supporting fertilization and fetal development. Its wall is made up of three layers, endometrium, myometrium and perimetrium. This study provides a detailed histological examination of the layers of the uterine wall across three developmental stages: prepubertal, pubertal and post-pubertal hence enhancing our understanding of uterine development. A total of 12 Wistar rats were procured. Three of them were mated with males and gave birth to pups which were assigned to the prepubertal group. The uterus was excised at day 21(prepubertal), post vaginal opening (pubertal) and the post-pubertal group, age 1 year and above was excised 7 days after acclimatization. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), a standard histological technique was employed to assess cellular structures, nuclei and cytoplasmic details. Masson’s Trichrome, a special stain was also employed to visualize and differentiate collagen fibers. The prepubertal uterus was composed of a simple cellular architecture, thin endometrium, few endometrial glands, and less collagen fibers. The pubertal uterus exhibited more endometrial glands lined with simple cuboidal-columnar epithelial cells and more collagen fibers compared to the prepubertal uterus. The post-pubertal uterus was characterized by presence of excess collagen fibers indicating uterine maturation. These findings reveal a transition in development from the prepubertal stage to the post-pubertal stage. This study contributes to a better understanding of uterine development across key developmental stages in Wistar rats, thereby contributing a recent literature to the body of knowledge of reproduction biology.