THE EFFECT OF AGEING ON THE TOTAL VOLUMES OF THE A AND B CELLS IN THE ISLETS OF LANGERHANS OF THE RAT

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Abstract
Forty male rats of the Wistar strain were sacrificed at 1, 5, 100, and 480 days of age. The mean individual volumes of the B cells were more than 3 times those of the A cells. The B/A cell number ratio was significantly less at birth than at 5 days of age, but their volume proportions were the same at both periods. The percentage volume contribution of the A cells to the total volume of the islets increased with age, while a statistically significant decrease in the relative volume of the B cells occurred. An increasing surface area of the body was found to reflect changes in the total volumes of both the A and B cells in relation to ageing than did either body weight, liver weight or pancreatic weight. A positive correlation existed between the total volume of both A and B cells in all age groups, but there was no correlation in any group between either cell volumes and the pancreatic weight.