Regional and developmental variations of blood vessel morphometry in the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane

Avian eggs contain all the necessary materials for embryonic development except for oxygen, which diffuses in from the environment via pores in the hard, calcified eggshell to the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM), the respiratory organ, which is rich in blood vessels. An air cell is formed at the blunt pole of the egg between the two membranes of the eggshell and enlarges during incubation due to water vapor loss. In this study of the CAM of chicken eggs, we compared blood vessel numerical density [N_A(v)], area fraction of blood vessels [A_A(v)], CAM thickness (D_CAM), total length of blood vessels (L) and surface area of the CAM attached to the eggshell (CAM_re) with those under the air cell (CAM_ac) during incubation. We found that N_A(v), A_A(v), D_CAM and L of the CAM increase with embryonic age and development. The N _A(v), A_A(v) and L under the air cell were higher in relation to the rest of the CAM at all ages tested, while the D_CAM under the air cell was always lower than around the rest of the egg. Since the eggshell over the air cell has a relatively greater porosity, and the respiratory gas exchange ratio there is higher than at other areas of the egg, there is a correlation between all the above morphometric data and the eggshell porosity. This suggests optimization of embryonic gas exchange in the chicken egg. We would like to propose that, during natural incubation, an increased gas diffusion under the air cell, together with increased blood vessel numerical density, may compensate for covering of the central part of the eggshell by the incubating parent.