Morphology of Peripheral Blood Cells from Various Species of Turkish Herpetofauna

In this study, measurements of morphological and size parameters of peripheral blood cells (erythrocyte, leucocyte, thrombocyte) on blood smear preparation devices stained with Wright’s stain were given for 87 species from Turkish herpetofauna (19 amphibian species including 7 urodeles and 12 anurans as well as 68 reptile species including 4 turtles, 30 lizards and 34 snakes). It was determined that erythrocyte and nucleus sizes showed great variations among the species of herpetofauna and even among the preparations of the same species; the largest blood cells (erythrocyte, leucocyte, thrombocyte) were found in urodeles; aquatic and semiaquatic species had larger erythrocytes than terrestrials, and the largest erythrocytes were in turtles among the reptile species examined. Lymphocytes were determined as the predominant cells among the blood leucocytes in blood smears of all the examined species.