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A descriptive and comparative lectin histochemical study of the vomeronasal system in pigs and sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2000

IGNACIO SALAZAR ,
PABLO SANCHEZ-QUINTEIRO ,
MATILDE LOMBARDERO  and
JOSE MANUEL CIFUENTES
IGNACIO SALAZAR
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago, Lugo, Spain
PABLO SANCHEZ-QUINTEIRO
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago, Lugo, Spain
MATILDE LOMBARDERO
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago, Lugo, Spain
JOSE MANUEL CIFUENTES
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago, Lugo, Spain
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Abstract

The accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) is the primary target of the sensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ (VNO), and thus constitutes a fundamental component of the accessory olfactory system, which is involved in responses to behaviour-related olfactory stimuli. In this study we investigated the characteristics of the AOB, VNO, vomeronasal nerves (VNNs) and caudal nasal nerve (CdNN) in pigs and sheep, species in which olfaction plays a key behavioural role both in the neonatal period and in adulthood. The patterns of staining of the AOB by the Bandeiraea simplicifolia and Lycopersicon esculentum lectins were the same in the 2 species, whereas the Ulex europeus and Dolichos biflorus lectins gave different patterns. In both species, lectin staining of the AOB was consistent with that of the VNNs, while the CdNN did not label any of the structures studied. The entire sensory epithelium of the pig was labelled by Ulex europeus and Lycopersicum esculentum lectins, and all 4 lectins used labelled the mucomicrovillar surface of the sensory epithelium in sheep.

Keywords

Accessory olfactionungulates
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Anatomy , Volume 196 , Issue 1 , January 2000 , pp. 15 - 22
Copyright
© Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2000

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