morphological and morphometric variations of erythrocytes in clarias gariepinus, bufo bufo, and agama agama using some histological stains

Introduction: erythrocytes are highly specialized and the most abundant cell type in vertebrates’ blood. their primary function is the transportation of oxygen to tissues of the body via hemoglobin. methods: the study was aimed at evaluating erythrocyte morphology in clarias gariepinus (c. gariepinus), bufo bufo (b. bufo), and agama agama (a. agama) using different stains; also, morphometric analysis of erythrocytes was evaluated in stains with the best affinity. the blood samples of c. gariepinus, b. bufo, and a. agama were collected using a syringe. smears from each animal were made on glass slides and stained with giemsa, hematoxylin and eosin (h&e), and methylene blue. erythrocytes diameter was measured using a standardized ocular micrometer. the area and volume of the erythrocytes were calculated. results: erythrocyte’s shapes range from spherical in c. gariepinus to oval in a. agama. giemsa demonstrated c. gariepinus and b. bufo erythrocytes better than h&e and methylene blue stains, while h&e demonstrated erythrocytes of a. agama better than giemsa and methylene blue. erythrocyte’s diameter, area, and volume of b. bufo were significantly higher (p<0.001) when compared with c. gariepinus and a. agama. conclusion: erythrocyte’s shape, size, area, and volume vary in different species and could be used to study evolutionary trends. the variation in erythrocytes size is associated with chromosome number and genome size.