Morfologia macroscópica do ovário de Agouti Paca

Abstract

According to Alho (1982) the paca belongs to the Rodentia Order, Suborder Hystricomorpha and to the family Cuniculidae, genus Agouti and species Cuniculus paca or Agouti paca (Linnaeus, 1766), known as common paca. This work aimed to characterize morphologically the pacas ovary (Agouti paca) through macroscopic analysis. For this research, four adult pacas were used, two pregnant and two non-pregnant. Partial ovariectomies were performed by removing only one ovary. The ovaries were fixed in a 10% formaldehyde solution in 0.1M phosphate buffer pH 7.4 for a period of 48 hours. After fixation, the ovaries were analyzed, measured and photographed. In all the specimens examined, it was observed that the paca's ovaries had an ovoid shape, yellowish pink color, nodular appearance due to projections on the cortical surface of follicles and corpus luteum.