Development of the vomeronasal receptor epithelium and the accessory olfactory bulb in sheep.
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).
Salazar
Ignacio
I
Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain. anigsabe@lugo.usc.es
Lombardero
Matilde
M
Alemañ
Nuria
N
Sánchez Quinteiro
Pablo
P
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
D037102:Lectins