Rat Rectum Tissue
The digital image featured above is a reconstruction of a 16-micrometer section of rat rectum tissue that was labeled for neurofilaments (green) and Phalloidin (red-orange) with Alexa Fluor probes, and histones (blue fluorescence) with DAPI. Compared to many other parts of the alimentary canal, the rectum is very short, with a length of about 5 inches in the adult human. As a result, it does not wind in the body as the intestines do, but rather it stretches in a straight line toward the anal sphincter.