title: Fine structure of Merkel corpuscles in the lingual mucosa of Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica.
abstract: By electron microscopy, these corpuscles were found exclusively in the connective tissue just beneath the dorsal epithelium near the lateral margin of the tongue. Each consisted of 4-8 Merkel cells and flattened nerve terminals arranged alternately. The Merkel cell was characterized by dense-cored granules, with a diameter ranging from 120 to 180 nm, throughout the cytoplasm. The functional significance of the avian Merkel cell, i.e. a mechanoreceptor cell or a trophic cell with the axon, still remains enigmatic, as is the case with Merkel cells of other vertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Anatomy, Kyushu Dental College, Kitakyushu, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toyoshima
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Seta
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shimamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000294:innervation / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003370:Coturnix / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000294:innervation* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014059:Tongue / Q000294:innervation* / Q000648:ultrastructure