Composition and Adaptation of the Enteric Neural System in Laboratory Rodents: A Cellular Overview

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a neuron network present in the digestive system. Intestinal tract anatomic differences and cellular composition in different animals can help with interaction with environmental comprehension, which is a pertinent theme in molecular and cellular neurophysiology. In mammals, ENS is not the same in all species; rodents, generally, are great models for digestive tract adaptation study in physiologic process and environmental adaptation interpretation. This study is a narrative overview that describes morphological and cellular composition characterization in rodent neural enteric systems. Interstitial Cajal cells structural characteristics; ENS embryonic cell; system adaptation mediated by fasting, acute and chronic starve; gestation and lactation; temperature and diet; parasitism and rodent caloric restriction were aborded. Seasonal or transitory changes in intestine size probably occur when connected to food quality than its availability. Changes in female intestine size are reversible and periodic, increasing during lactation rodent as an attractive model for digestive flexibility study in the intestine size adjustment area. Enteric nervous system neuron morphological classification is presented, according to digestive tract localization and animal species. In conclusion, a significant change in intestinal mass and length in different rodent species can implicate intestinal motility during and after intestinal tract injury.