Aim: It is critically important to know the volume of the kidneys, which are vital for the body, in order to use the volume data for the treatment or to contribute to other studies. Thus present study aimed to estimate the total and subcomponent volume of the kidney in the chinchilla.

Materials and Methods: The present study was estimated the total and subcomponents volume of left and right kidneys of five male and five female adult chinchillas. The kidneys' total volume was measured by both Archimedean Principle and Cavalieri method while the volumes of the subcomponents were estimated by Cavalieri method. All estimated parameters were compared by statistically.

Results: The mean volume of the kidneys' was estimated as 1.11 cm³ for males and 0.94 cm³ for females by Archimedean principle. However it was 0.97 cm³ for males and 0.84 cm³ for females by Cavalieri method. The volume fractions of the kidney cortex, medulla and pelvis were 71%, 26%, 3% for the male and 71%, 27%, 2% for the female, respectively. Moreover all parameters such as weight, volume and volume fractions were statistically evaluated and no significant difference (p>0.05) was observed between the right and left kidneys and between the genders.

Conclusion: The total volume of the kidney could be estimated by both Archimadean principle and Cavalieri method. However, the volume of the subcomponents in the kidney could only be estimated by Cavalieri method. Actually, total and subcomponent volume estimations of the kidney will contribute the findings of the experimental studies. It was concluded that this stereological study could provide a valuable contribution to future studies performed on kidney.