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 μm long and 100–250 μm 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.