title: Development of the vomeronasal receptor epithelium and the accessory olfactory bulb in sheep.
abstract: The morphological development of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) of the sheep from anlage to birth were studied by classical and histochemical methods using embryos and fetuses obtained from an abattoir with ages estimated from crown-to-rump length. Both VNO and AOB developed in a biologically logical sequence and completed their morphological development around day 98, at entry into the last third of the gestation period. A lectin with specificity for oligomeric N-acetylglucosamine labeled the sensory epithelium of the VNO, the vomeronasal nerves, and the nervous and glomerular layers of the AOB before birth. These results suggest that the vomeronasal system, which is well developed and functional in adult sheep, may be able to function at or even before birth in these animals (whereas in rodents, for example, this is precluded by the AOB not completing its development until after birth).
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain. anigsabe@lugo.usc.es
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lombardero
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alemañ
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sánchez Quinteiro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004848:Epithelium / Q000196:embryology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005333:Fetus; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D037102:Lectins / Q000378:metabolism; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000196:embryology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012756:Sheep; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000196:embryology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D037102:Lectins