ANATOMIA HISTOLOGIA EMBRYOLOGIA, vol.34, no.5, pp.294-297, 2005 (SCI-Expanded)
This study has aimed at observing in detail the degree of complexity in the formation of the ophthalmic rete in geese living at high altitudes and very cold climate conditions in Kars and its province of Turkey. The 15 adult geese were injected with red and blue coloured latex, dissection was performed, the rete was examined, and the vessels were counted macroscopically and by stereoscopic microscopy. The size and the afferent and efferent vessels of the rete were mostly in parallel with the literature. The numbers of the vessels in the rete of the male and female geese were between 8.3 +/- 1.1 and 9.3 +/- 1.1 in arteries, and 8.6 +/- 1.4 and 10.5 +/- 1.3 in veins respectively. The results suggest that the ophthalmic rete in the goose living at high altitudes and very cold conditions may tend to be less complex, which might be the result of the relatively less cooling needs of the brain at cold conditions.