Morphological studies of the foramen caecum linguae of the human and guinea pig tongue.
A three-dimensional study of the development of the thyroid gland in human and guinea pig embryos was made together with a histological investigation of the foramen caecum of the human adult tongue. In the human embryo, an epithelial depression was not seen between the first and second branchial arches except a shallow sulcus. Ciliated cells were observed on the dorsal surface of the tongue in all embryos which exceeded 18 mm in crown-rump length. The presence of a foramen caecum was observed in 18 (51%) cadavers from 35 human adults. Several circumvallate papillae were found in a 10-mm-deep foramen caecum on the side adjacent to the anterior two thirds of the tongue. In all specimens serous glands open into the foramen caecum.
Toh
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Second Department of Oral Anatomy, Fukuoka Dental College, Japan.
Ohmori
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T
D000818:Animals; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000196:embryology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014059:Tongue / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure