Vol. 9, Special Issue 10, Part U (2025)

The present study was undertaken to compare the histomorphological characteristics of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans in buffalo, sheep, and goat. In all species, the endocrine component of the pancreas consisted of irregular clusters of cells interspersed between the acini and surrounded by numerous sinusoidal capillaries. The islets were categorized as large, medium, and small, with average diameters of 80-125 μm in buffalo and sheep, and 80-115 μm in goat. The small islets measured 20-30 μm, 20-25 μm, and 20-26 μm, respectively. The average number of endocrine cells per islet ranged from 47-60, 14-23, and ≤8 in buffalo; 74-85, 16-25, and 4-10 in sheep; and 91-110, 16-26, and 1-10 in goat for large, medium, and small islets, respectively, indicating a higher islet density in goats. Four types of endocrine cells i.e α, β, δ, and PP cells were identified in all species. β cells were the most numerous and centrally located, constituting 69.51 and 67.72% in buffalo, 65.36 and 67.92% in sheep, and 71.81 and 67.62% in goat for large and medium islets, respectively. α cells were fewer and predominantly peripheral (14.13 and 14.98% in buffalo; 20.86 and 14.51% in sheep; 16.68 and 9.90% in goat). δ cells accounted for 11.25 and 10.83% in buffalo, 9.61 and 11.59% in sheep, and 8.14 and 14.89% in goat, while PP cells were least numerous (5.07 and 7.10% in buffalo; 4.15 and 6.09% in sheep; 3.01 and 7.57% in goat). The comparative findings indicate that goats possess more numerous and denser islets, whereas buffalo exhibit larger but fewer islets, reflecting species-specific structural and functional adaptations.