Bouin’s fixed intestinal samples were dehydrated using increasing ethanol concentrations from 70 to 96%, cleared with xylene and then embedded in paraffin wax. Serial 5 m sections were prepared, mounted on glass slides and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. The slides were examined on a Zeiss Photomicroscope III (Carl Zeiss AG, Jena, Germany) fitted with a digital video camera (Bresser MikroCamLab, Rhede, Germany). The images were analyzed using stereological image software (Bresser MikroCamLab, Rhede, Germany). A total of 15 intact well oriented crypt-villus units per animal were selected randomly, measured and the mean length was calculated for each sample. Villus height was measured from the tip of the villus to the base between individual villi, and crypt depth measurements were taken from the valley between individual villi to the basal membrane.