Bone Marrow Studies In Outbred Sprague-Dawley Albino Rats Of Different Ages And Sexes Raised In The Humid Tropics.:- Ukpai Chikaodiri F

ABSTRACTS ix This study determined the differential bone marrow profile ofSpraque-Dawley outbred albino rats of different sexes and different ages at the College of Veterinary Medicine Laboratory Animal Unit, Michael Okapara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State Nigeria. The differential bone marrow cell counts were done following standard procedures on bone marrow samples collected from 280 rats (140 males and 140 females). Results ofdifferential distribution of cells in the bone marrow of Spraque-Dawley albino rats were compared with standard reference values obtained in different animals and in rats in the temperate regions. The results generated from this study showed that there were significant differences in the normal values ofsome ofthe parameters between the sexes and age sets ofrats studied and also no much differences exists between humerus and femur, thus bone marrow examination can be done using any of the bones. The M:E ratio in the humerus of outbred albino rats for the different age sets were 0.80:1, 0.77:1, 0.78:1, 0.90:1, 0.86:1 and 0.77:1 at 2-4,6-8, 10-12, 14-16, 18-20, 24-30 and 40-50 weeks respectively. The M:E ratio in the humerus of outbred albino rats for different sexes and different age sets were 0.82:1, 0.78:1, 0.82:1, 0.77:1, 0.76:1, 0.78:1, 0.85:1, 0.81:1, 0.86:1, 0.94:1, 0.89:1, 0.83:1, 0.81:1, 0.62:1 at 2-4,6-8, 10-12, 14-16, 18-20, 24-30 and 40-50 weeks respectively. The M:E ratio in the femur of outbred albino rats for the different age sets were 0.86:1, 0.90:1, 0.93:1, 0.95:1, 0.90:1, 0.96:1, 0.68:1 at 2-4,6-8, 10-12, 14-16, 18-20, 24-30 and 40-50 weeks respectively. The M:E ratio in the femur of outbred albino rats for different sexes and different age sets were 0.79:1, 0.90:1, 0.87:1, 0.94:1,0.86:1, 1.01:1,0.80:1, 1.14:1,0.87:1,0.98:1,0.88:1, 1.03:1,0.81:1,0.57:1 at2-4,6-8, 10- 12, 14-16, 18-20, 24-30 and 40-50 weeks. The M:E ratio in the humerus and femur of outbred albino rats were 0.80:1, 0.86:1, 0.77:1, 0.80:1, 0.78:1, 0.93:1,0.77:1,0.95:1,0.90:1,0.86:1,0.96:1, 0.79:1, and 0.69:1 at 2-4,6-8, 10-12, 14-16, 18-20, 24-30 and 40-50 weeks respectively. These values were comparable to some M:E ratio values generated from animals in the temperate regions but were lower than values obtained in rats in those regions. The result of this study will serve as a guide suitable for the interpretation of data from researches that are aimed at evaluating the bone marrow in cases where peripheral blood examination alone cannot explain a haematologic disorder