Morphology of intraepithelial corpuscular nerve endings in the nasal respiratory mucosa of the dog.
Corpuscular nerve endings in the nasal respiratory mucosa of the dog were investigated by immunohistochemical staining specific for protein gene product 9.5 by light and electron microscopy. In the nasal respiratory mucosa, complex corpuscular endings, which displayed bulbous, laminar and varicose expansions, were distributed on the dorsal elevated part of the nasal septum and on the dorsal nasal concha. The endings were 300-500 microm long and 100-250 microm wide. Some axons gave rise to a single ending while others branched into 2 endings. Cryostat sections revealed that the corpuscular endings were located within the nasal respiratory epithelium. On electron microscopy, immunoreactive nerve terminals that contained organelles, including mitochondria and neurofilaments, were observed within the epithelial layer near the lumen of the nasal cavity. Some terminals contacted the goblet cell. Such terminal regions were covered by the cytoplasmic process of ciliated cells and were never exposed to the lumen of the nasal cavity. These nerve endings are probably activated by pressure changes.
Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Gifu University, Japan. yamamoto@cc.gifu-u.ac.jp
Y
Y
Yamamoto
A
A
Kondo
Y
Y
Atoji
H
H
Tsubone
Y
Y
Suzuki
D000818:Animals; D016616:Cryoultramicrotomy; D004285:Dogs / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000294:innervation*; D009300:Nasal Septum; D011312:Pressure; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000737:chemistry; D013869:Thiolester Hydrolases / Q000032:analysis; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase
D013869:Thiolester Hydrolases; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase