Passage of Harderian gland secretions to the vomeronasal organ of Thamnophis sirtalis (Serpentes: Colubridae)

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (7) ◽  
pp. 1284-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
S J Rehorek ◽  
W J Hillenius ◽  
W Quan ◽  
M Halpern
Keyword(s):  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Harderian Gland ◽  
Nasolacrimal Duct ◽  
Sensory Epithelium ◽  
Thamnophis Sirtalis ◽  
Vomeronasal System ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Rich Solution ◽  
The Right

The Harderian gland is a poorly understood structure found in the anterior orbit of most terrestrial vertebrates. In colubrid snakes it is a seromucous gland with a large postorbital portion. Numerous functions have been ascribed to this gland, including contributions to orbital lubrication or the vomeronasal system. Anatomically the Harderian gland is connected to the vomeronasal organ (VNO) via the nasolacrimal duct. In this study we traced the serous secretions of the Harderian gland of two subspecies of Thamnophis sirtalis (Colubridae), using autoradiographic techniques at the light-microscopic level. We injected the Harderian gland of the snakes with H3-proline either unilaterally (right side) or bilaterally. The right Harderian glands of both treatment groups were then injected with a potassium-rich solution. No labeling was observed in the orbital space of any treatment group, suggesting that the Harderian gland secretions of T. sirtalis do not function in orbital lubrication. Labeling was only observed in the right Harderian gland, Harderian gland ducts, nasolacrimal duct, apical vomeronasal sensory epithelium, VNO lumen, and vomeronasal duct. No such labeling was observed in any of the other treatments examined. Thus, the serous secretions of the Harderian gland in snakes flow to the VNO, and may be considered part of the vomeronasal system. The specific function of the Harderian gland secretions in the vomeronasal system remains to be determined.

The Harderian gland of two species of snakes: Pseudonaja textilis (Elapidae) and Thamnophis sirtalis (Colubridae)

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J Rehorek ◽  
Mimi Halpern ◽  
Bruce T Firth ◽  
Mark N Hutchinson
Keyword(s):  
Gross Anatomy ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Harderian Gland ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Nasolacrimal Duct ◽  
Thamnophis Sirtalis ◽  
Mucous Cells ◽  
Vomeronasal System ◽  
Snake Species ◽  
Harderian Glands

The reptilian Harderian gland is a poorly understood cephalic structure. Despite the recent assertion that in snakes it may function as part of the vomeronasal system, the Harderian gland has been described in few snake species. In this study we examined the gross anatomy, histology, and ultrastructure of the Harderian gland of two different advanced snake species (Colubroidea): Pseudonaja textilis (Elapidae) and Thamnophis sirtalis (Colubridae). In both species the Harderian gland is a large serous gland whose secretions pass directly into the vomeronasal organ via the nasolacrimal duct. Contrary to previous publications, the Harderian gland in both species studied possesses a specific duct system lined by mucous cells. However, the Harderian glands of these two species differ in shape, the histochemical nature of these mucous secretions, and the ultrastructure of the serous granules. In conclusion, though the Harderian glands of snakes are remarkably conserved morphologically, there is some interspecific variation.

Can an orbital gland function in the vomeronasal sense? A study of the pygopodid Harderian gland

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 648-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
S J Rehorek ◽  
B T Firth ◽  
M N Hutchinson
Keyword(s):  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Harderian Gland ◽  
Nasolacrimal Duct ◽  
Morphological Features ◽  
Direct Link ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Gland Function

The Harderian gland occurs in the orbit of most tetrapod vertebrates. A growing body of evidence suggests that this gland is associated with the chemoreceptive function of the vomeronasal organ. In the present study, the morphology of the Harderian gland in two species of pygopodids was examined, and the results were contrasted with those from both geckos and snakes. The results show that the pygopodid Harderian gland shares histochemical and ultrastructural features with that of the geckos. However, in several gross morphological features, the pygopodid Harderian gland more closely resemble that of snakes than that of geckos. In both pygopodids and snakes, the nasolacrimal duct forms a direct link between the Harderian gland and the vomeronasal organ, which indicates that this specialized connection between the Harderian gland and vomeronasal organ is a convergent evolutionary attribute of these two groups.

Passage of Harderian gland secretions to the vomeronasal organ of Thamnophis sirtalis (Serpentes: Colubridae)

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (7) ◽  
pp. 1284-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.J. Rehorek ◽  
W.J. Hillenius ◽  
W. Quan ◽  
M. Halpern
Keyword(s):  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Harderian Gland ◽  
Thamnophis Sirtalis

scholarly journals Morphological and Histological Features of the Vomeronasal Organ in African Pygmy Hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris)

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1462
Author(s):  
Daisuke Kondoh ◽  
Yusuke Tanaka ◽  
Yusuke K. Kawai ◽  
Takayuki Mineshige ◽  
Kenichi Watanabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Periodic Acid ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Sensory Epithelium ◽  
Middle Part ◽  
Periodic Acid Schiff ◽  
Histological Features ◽  
Duct Opening ◽  
Hematoxylin Eosin ◽  
Rostral Part

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) detects specific chemicals such as pheromones and kairomones. Hedgehogs (Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae) have a well-developed accessory olfactory bulb that receives projections from the VNO, but little is known about the hedgehog VNO. Here, we studied the histological features of the VNO in five individual African pygmy hedgehogs by hematoxylin-eosin, periodic acid-Schiff, and Alcian blue stains. The hedgehog VNO comprises a hyaline cartilage capsule, soft tissue and epithelial lumen, and it branches from the site just before the incisive duct opening into the nasal cavity. The soft tissues contain several small mucous (or mucoserous) glands and a large serous gland, and many venous sinuses all around the lumen. The VNO lumen is round to oval throughout the hedgehog VNO, and the sensory epithelium lines almost the entire rostral part and medial wall of the middle part. These findings indicate that the VNO is functional and plays an important role in the hedgehog. Notably, the VNO apparently has a characteristic flushing mechanism with serous secretions like those of gustatory glands, which the hedgehog might frequently use to recognize the external environment.

scholarly journals The branches of the descending palatine artery and their relation to the vomeronasal organ inAngoragoats

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 55-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Besoluk ◽  
E. Eken ◽  
S. Bahar
Keyword(s):  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Sphenopalatine Artery ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
The Right ◽  
Palatine Artery ◽  
Fine Branch

The aim of this study was to reveal the branches of the descending palatine artery, and its relation to the vomeronasal organ inAngoragoats. For this purpose, ten heads of adultAngoragoats obtained from a slaughterhouse were used. The ramifications of the latex enjected descending palatine artery and their vomeronasal organ-related findings were revealed by fine dissection and transverse sections. Arterial blood reached the caudally vomeronasal organ primarily via the sphenopalatine artery, and also cranially via a fine branch of the major palatine artery by crossing the palatine fissure. The average diameters of both the descending palatine artery and its branches were thicker on the left side than on the right, and its ramifications were not variable in this species.

scholarly journals The Fine Structure of the Sensory Epithelium of the Vomeronasal Organ in Suckling Rats

1971 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean E Kratzing
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Sensory Epithelium ◽  
Exchange Chromatography ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Tryptic Digestion ◽  
Tryptic Peptides ◽  
Special Procedure ◽  
A Chain

The amino acid sequence of the a-chain of haemoglobin from M. giganteus has been determined. The soluble peptides formed by tryptic digestion were isolated by gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography, paper ionophoresis, and chromatography. The amino acid sequences were determined by the "dansyl"Edman procedure. Incomplete hydrolysis of one bond resulted in a large insolublecore peptide containing 40 amino acid residues. The sequence of this peptide was deduced from the sequences of smaller peptides resulting from further digestion with thermolysin and papain. Maleylation of the a-globin before tryptic digestion gave three large fragments which assisted in assigning tryptic peptides to specific areas of the molecule. A special procedure involving maleylation of a chymotryptic digest of globin was used to isolate peptides containing arginine which provided overlap sequences of tryptic peptides

Effects of prior adrenalectomy on postpneumonectomy lung growth in the rat

1985 ◽  
Vol 248 (1) ◽  
pp. E70-E74 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Bennett ◽  
P. C. Colony ◽  
J. L. Addison ◽  
D. E. Rannels
Keyword(s):  
Dry Mass ◽  
Hydrocortisone Acetate ◽  
Lung Growth ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Compensatory Lung Growth ◽  
Sprague Dawley Rats ◽  
Total Dna ◽  
Glucocorticoid Replacement Therapy ◽  
The Right

The effects of adrenalectomy, with and without subsequent glucocorticoid replacement therapy, on postpneumonectomy compensatory lung growth in the rat were investigated. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-230 g) were subjected to no operation (UNOP), left pneumonectomy (PNX), or PNX preceded by bilateral adrenalectomy 5 days earlier (ADX/PNX). At 14 days post-PNX, when compensatory lung growth is normally complete in 200-g rats, right lung (RL) dry weights of PNX (263 +/- 6 mg, n = 26) and ADX/PNX (334 +/- 13 mg, n = 25) rats were increased 58 and 101%, respectively, relative to UNOP controls (166 +/- 5 mg, n = 10). Increases in total DNA, RNA, and protein in the right lungs of PNX and ADX/PNX rats occurred in proportion to RL dry mass. The increase in all parameters examined in PNX and ADX/PNX rats at 7 days post-PNX was half that at 14 days, indicating linear lung growth in both treatment groups. The stimulatory effect of ADX on lung growth was blocked by hydrocortisone acetate (HCA), administered intraperitoneally in daily doses of 5 mg/kg, beginning on the day of PNX. The RL dry weights of HCA-treated ADX/PNX rats (241 +/- 7 mg, n = 10) did not differ significantly from the corresponding value in PNX rats (270 +/- 14 mg, n = 7). The lower RL weights in the HCA-treated rats resulted from an inhibition of cell division, as evidenced by the total RL DNA content, which was similar to that in PNX animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alteration in testicular cell components following transiently induced ischaemia in prepubertal bulls

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 826
Author(s):  
G. M. Schuenemann ◽  
S. M. L. C. Mendis-Handagama ◽  
T. M. Prado ◽  
F. N. Schrick
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Leydig Cells ◽  
Testis Weight ◽  
Point Counting ◽  
Group 13 ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Scrotal Circumference ◽  
Cell Components ◽  
Testicular Morphology ◽  
The Right

The aim of the present study was to evaluate transient testicular ischaemia (induced using elastrator bands) in Jersey calves on testicular morphology and development. Treatments (at 27 ± 5 days of age) consisted of control (0 h banding) and banding for 2, 4 or 8 h (n = 4 in each group). After castration (at 60 ± 5 days of age), the right testis was used for calculation of cell components per testis according to the point-counting method. Bodyweight (59.8 ± 6.2 kg) and scrotal circumference (SC) at banding (9.1 ± 0.2 cm) did not differ between groups. Fresh testis weight, scrotal temperature immediately before band removal and daily SC growth were decreased in ischaemic (4 and 8 h) testes compared with controls (P < 0.05). In addition, the number of Sertoli and Leydig cells was significantly reduced in the 8 h ischaemic treatment group (P < 0.05). Transiently induced ischaemia significantly decreased the number of germ cells in the 8 h ischaemic treatment group (13 ± 5 × 106 cells) compared with the 0, 2 and 4 h ischaemic treatment groups (38 ± 6, 32 ± 6 and 33 ± 5 × 106 cells, respectively; P < 0.05). These results suggest that transiently induced ischaemia for 8 h significantly decreases the number of germ, Sertoli and Leydig cells in prepubertal testis.

scholarly journals Morphology of cat vomeronasal organ non-sensory epithelium during postnatal development

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaa A. M. Elgayar ◽  
Heba M. Saad-Eldin ◽  
Ola A. Haussein
Keyword(s):  
Postnatal Development ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Sensory Epithelium
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