Introduction: Mammoth trunk excavation of on the island Malyi Lyakhov in the Laptev Sea became a historical discovery for the Republic Sakha (Yakutia) in 2013. According to paleontologists, the age of this find is 43 thousand years. The main features of the Malolyakhovsky mammoth are preservation of the soft tissues and a detection of the dark-brown liquid substance, which was found along the bottom of the mammoth’s trunk.
The aim: Firstly, to reveal and study preservation of cell elements of biomaterial received at excavation of 2013. Secondly, to find out and study preservation of cell elements taken from a blood vessel of a front extremity, during preparation of the Malolyakhovsky mammoth trunk which was carried out in March, 2014.
Material and methods: 1. A dark-brown liquid substance, which flowed out at excavation; 2. biomaterials from a blood vessel taken during preparation of the mammoth’s trunk became the materials of this researches. In order to study morphological properties of gained biomaterials, we used the following methods: microscopic smear research, hematological analyses with use of technology of peroxidase cytochemical reaction, a technique of two-dimensional laser light, and cyanide-free hemoglobin estimation.
Results: Under microscopic examination, the cell elements similar to elements of blood of mammals, were found: the monocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes containing nuclear inclusions. The comparative analysis showed that the cells found in a dark-brown liquid substance received at excavation and in smear of the biomaterial taken from a blood vessel, have the identical morphological structure of cell elements. Studying of primary biomaterial on the hematological analyzer confirmed the maintenance of the same cells (lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes), and availability of hemoglobin which value was 22 g/l.
Conclusions: The unique preservation of the soft tissues, which were found in permafrost, allowed to find and describe morphological properties of cell elements of a fossil animal for the first time.
Keywords: cell; phagocytosis; hemoglobin; microscopy; mammoth.