Adrenal Glands in Small Smooth-Tailed Tree Shrew (Dendrogale murina)

Abstract

Adrenal glands of small smooth-tailed tree shrews (Dendrogale murina), four males and two females, caught and fixed in Thailand were observed macroscopically and histologically. They were located at the cranio-medial sides of the kidney. They were elongated in shape and consisted of a cortex and medulla. The cortex could be subdivided into three zones by the cell arrangement and the morphology of nuclei, cytoplasm and cell strands, like in other mammalian species. The tree shrew seemed to share more morphological characteristics with some laboratory rodents than some of non-human primates.