Abstract
Seventy-five male Wistar rats were sacrificed at 1, 5, 21, 100, and 480 days of age. Only islets whose cross-sectional diameter exceeded 46.9u were counted. A marked increase in the number of islets was observed with increased age, with the average number of islets in the oldest group being 13 times greater than in the newborn. Each age group showed a strong correlation between the number of islets and the total islet volume. The ratio of islets to either body weight, liver weight or pancreatic weight showed a marked reduction with increasing age. There was statistical support for a positive correlation between body weight and the number of islets in most of the age groups.