Incidence and morphological aspects of the vitelline diverticulum in broiler chicken

Abstract

Introduction: The vitelline diverticulum is known as the junction point of the vitelline vesicle with the chick during embryogenesis and appears after hatching. It is located distally to the duodenum and forms a small prominence in the midgut. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the incidence of vitelline diverticulum in slaughter birds and to characterize this structure morphologically. Material and Methods: 1614 birds from two slaughterhouses located in the city of São João de Meriti (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), of both sexes, aged approximately 58-60 days, were used. The viscera were collected immediately after slaughter, where the presence or absence of the vitelline diverticulum was verified. For histological analysis, the samples were sent to the Histology Laboratory of the Biomedical Institute of Fluminense Federal University. Histological processing was performed by inclusion in paraffin for routine staining, and the slides were analyzed under optical microscopy. Results: Our results revealed that 99.75% of the slaughtered birds presented the vitelline diverticulum in the jejunum. It was observed that its structure coincides with that of the intestine, with the serous, muscular, and mucous layers, however, it does present villi, and is rich in glandular elements. Microscopy also revealed a large number of lymphatic follicles dispersed throughout its extension. Conclusion: The percentage of the vitelline diverticulum was higher than the majority described in the literature, with this study showing a close association between the vitelline diverticulum and lymphoid tissue.