High altitude sickness is a life-threatening disease that occurs among acclimatized individuals working or living at a high altitude accompanied by hypobaric hypoxia exposure. The prolonged influence of hypobaric hypoxia on the brain may trigger neuronal damage and cell death due to an oxygen deficiency. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the histomorphological changes in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, cerebellar cortex, and striatum of the rat’s brain following chronic hypobaric hypoxia. Fourteen albino rats were used for this investigation. The animals were exposed to chronic hypobaric hypoxia in the special decompression chamber at an altitude of 7000 m for 7 days. The histological analysis was conducted via toluidine staining and silver impregnation. DNA damage and cell apoptosis were assessed via Feulgen staining. The histochemical assessment revealed increased dark neurons in the hippocampus with cell swelling. Silver impregnation showed increased argyrophilic neurons in the cerebellar cortex, striatum, CA1 subfield of the hippocampus, and cerebral cortex. The cytochemical analysis determined the increased apoptotic cells with hyperchromatic condensation and pyknosis in the hippocampus subfields and cerebral cortex. In addition, it has been observed that hypoxia has resulted in small hemorrhages and perivascular edema within the cerebellar and cerebral cortex.

The results indicate brain injury observed in the various parts of the brain towards hypobaric hypoxia, however, the hippocampus showed greater vulnerability against hypoxic exposure in comparison to the striatum, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex. These changes support our insights regarding brain intolerance under conditions of hypoxia-induced oxygen deficiency and its histomorphological manifestations.

高原病是一种危及生命的疾病，发生在适应高海拔地区工作或生活并伴有低压缺氧的个体中。低压缺氧对大脑的长期影响可能会因缺氧而引发神经元损伤和细胞死亡。本研究的目的是探讨慢性低压缺氧后大鼠大脑海马、大脑皮层、小脑皮层和纹状体的组织形态学变化。本研究使用了十四只白化老鼠动物在海拔7000米的特制减压室中进行慢性低压缺氧7天。通过甲苯胺染色和银浸渍进行组织学分析。通过富尔根染色评估 DNA 损伤和细胞凋亡。组织化学评估显示海马体中暗神经元增多且细胞肿胀。银浸渍显示小脑皮质、纹状体、海马 CA1 亚区和大脑皮质中的嗜银神经元增加。细胞化学分析显示海马亚区和大脑皮层凋亡细胞增多，并有深染、固缩。此外，据观察，缺氧会导致小脑和大脑皮层内的小出血和血管周围水肿。

结果表明，在大脑的各个部位都观察到了低压缺氧造成的脑损伤，然而，与纹状体、小脑和大脑皮层相比，海马体在缺氧暴露下表现出更大的脆弱性。这些变化支持了我们对缺氧引起的缺氧条件下大脑不耐受及其组织形态学表现的见解。