The prenatal maturity of the accessory olfactory bulb in pigs.
The morphological development of the accessory olfactory bulb of the fetal pig was studied by classical and histo-chemical methods, and the vomeronasal organ and nasal septum were studied histochemically. Specimens were obtained from an abattoir and their ages estimated from their crown-to-rump length. The accessory olfactory bulb was structurally mature in fetuses of crown-to-rump length 21-23 cm, by which time the lectin Lycopersicum esculentum agglutinin stained the same structures as in adults (in particular, the entire sensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ, the vomeronasal nerves, and the nervous and glomerular layers of the accessory olfactory bulb). These results suggest that the vomeronasal system of the pig may, like that of vertebrates such as snakes, be functional at birth.
Salazar
Ignacio
I
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, 27002 Lugo, Spain. anigsabe@lugo.usc.es
Sánchez Quinteiro
Pablo
P
Lombardero
Matilde
M
Aleman
Nuria
N
Fernández de Trocóniz
Patricia
P
D000818:Animals; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D009562:Nissl Bodies; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development; D037121:Plant Lectins; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013552:Swine; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development
D037121:Plant Lectins; C034981:tomato lectin