The effects of toxoplasmosis on the intestinal wall morphometry, the distribution of collagen fibers, and the dynamic of mucins secreted in the chicken colon were analyzed. Sixteen 26-day-old male Cobb chicks (Gallus gallus) were randomly distributed into three groups (G1, G2, and G3). G1 received no inoculums and characterized the control group, G2 was inoculated with tissue cysts of ME49 strain of Toxoplasma gondii, and G3 was inoculated with oocytes of M7741 strain of T. gondii. After 60 days of inoculation, the animals were slaughtered and had their colon collected and submitted to histological processing. Transversal cuts (4μm) were stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE), Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS), Alcian Blue pH 2.5, Alcian Blue (AB) pH 1.0, and Azan. G2 and G3 animals showed hypertrophy of the colon wall, but the proportion between the number of goblet cells and enterocytes present in the intestinal epithelium was not altered.
birds; toxoplasmosis; bowel intestine
