Comparative ultrastructure of the olfactory system in the East African root rat (Tachyoryctes splendens) and the naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber).

The ultrastructure of the olfactory system of most fossorial rodents remains largely unexplored. This study sought to investigate the functional structure of the olfactory mucosa and olfactory bulb of two species of fossorial rodents that have distinct behaviour and ecology, the East African root rat (RR) and the naked mole rat (NMR). Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed.

Slight volume changes in the duck lung do not imply a fundamental change in the structure of the parenchyma.

Slight changes in lung volume have previously been reported in ducks. We studied the functional structure of the lung of the domestic duck using classical anatomical techniques as well as ultrasound monitoring to unravel the causes of such changes. Later dorsal and medioventral secondary bronchi were superficially positioned and covered with a thin transparent and collapsible membrane, internally lined with a cuboidal to squamous epithelium.

Light and scanning electron microscopy of the olfactory mucosa in the rufous sengi (Elephantulus rufescens).

Sengis are eutherian insectivores belonging to superorder Afrotheria, a recently defined clade of mammals that diverged from other placentals over 100 million years ago. In this study, a histological and ultrastructural analysis was carried out on the olfactory mucosa (OM) of the rufous sengi (Elephantulus rufescens) and the data were compared with those reported earlier in the dog (Canis familiaris) and the sheep (Ovis aries), whose dietary lifestyles are carnivorous and herbivorous, respectively. Qualitatively, the microstructure of the sengi's OM was basically similar to that of the other eutherian mammals except for differences in the pattern of cilia projection from the dendritic knobs of the olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) and distribution of Bowman's glands within the lamina propria of the OM.

Functional Morphology of the Olfactory Mucosa and Olfactory Bulb in Fossorial Rodents: The East African Root Rat (Tachyoryctes splendens) and the Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber).

Optimal functioning of the olfactory system is critical for survival of fossorial rodents in their subterranean lifestyle. This study examines the structure of the olfactory mucosa and olfactory bulb of two fossorial rodents exhibiting distinct social behaviors, the East African root rat and the naked mole rat. The social naked mole rat displayed simpler ethmoturbinates consisting of dorsomedial and broad discoid/flaplike parts that projected rostrally from the ethmoid bone.

Effects of anticancer drug docetaxel on the structure and function of the rabbit olfactory mucosa.

Docetaxel (DCT) is an anticancer drug which acts by disrupting microtubule dynamics in the highly mitotic cancer cells. Thus, this drug has a potential to affect function and organization of tissues exhibiting high cellular turnover. We investigated, in the rabbit, the effects of a single human equivalent dose (6.