Ahmed Magdy; Reda Rashed; Khaled Shoghy; Samy F. Mahmoud; Dalia I Saleh; Liana Fericean; Banatean-Dunea Ioan; Mihaela Ostan & Mohamed Abdo

The dromedary camel is one of the most significant domestic animals in arid and semi-arid countries because of its ability to provide high-quality food in very difficult conditions. The dromedary camel's cornea most certainly plays a major survival role in dry and semiarid environments. The anatomical and histological evaluation of the cornea relieved the unique structures of camel cornea, and it is related to surviving in harsh environment. In this work we aim to provide a fundamental histochemical and topographical evaluation of camel cornea by using H&E, P.A.S, and Masson trichrome stains. The corneas of twelve adults, healthy camels were removed as soon as they were slaughtered. Nine components make up each cornea: peripheral dorsal (PD), peripheral ventral (PV), peripheral nasal (PN), peripheral temporal (MT), central (C), middle dorsal (MD), middle ventral (MV), middle nasal (MN), and peripheral temporal (PT). The results investigated that the corneal epithelium and stroma appeared thick. The corneal stroma had parallel collagens fibers enclosed keratocytes. Also, the presence of the glomerular layer (Bowman’s layer, BL) and a strong P.A.S positive reaction in all corneal regions. We concluded that the structure of the camel cornea is very different from human and other domestic animals. The unique structure of the cornea might be an adaptation to help the camel survive in a hot and dry climate.

KEY WORDS: Histochemical; Topographical map; Dromedary Camel; Cornea.