Tomiate André Neri, Barbosa Gabriela Klein, Rocha Lara Caetano, de Almeida Sonia Regina Yokomizo, de Oliveira Moacir Franco, Watanabe Ii-Sei, Ciena Adriano Polican
Laboratório de Anatomia - LAMAF, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista-UNESP, 13506-752, Rio Claro-SP, Brasil.
Departamento de Anatomia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas - ICBIII, Universidade de São Paulo-USP, 05508-900, São Paulo-SP, Brasil.
Microsc Microanal. 2021 Apr 23:1-5. doi: 10.1017/S1431927621000350.
The palate is a fundamental region in food swallowing and presents different adaptations in species. This research aimed to describe structural and ultrastructural characteristics of the palatine epithelium and the connective tissue cores (CTCs) of ten red-rumped agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina—Linnaeus, 1758) using macroscopic, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. We found nine palatine ridges in the diastema and hard palate, and a smooth surface in the soft palate. Stratified squamous keratinized epithelium with projections of lamina propria and soft palate had gland clusters. Epithelial removal revealed CTCs with a conical shape with high density in the hard palate and the sides of the soft palate. Near the CTCs were nerve fibers in the hard palate, and the soft palate had muscular tissue below the gland clusters. The structural and ultrastructural characteristics enable stability of the hard palate and fixation to the soft palate sides, while the soft palate center has greater mobility thus assisting in food swallowing. We concluded that structural characteristics are similar to other mammals, although the morphology of agouti's palate differs in the amount and disposition of palatine ridges, and the conical CTC's morphology.
腭是食物吞咽的一个基本区域，并且在不同物种中呈现出不同的适应性。本研究旨在利用宏观观察、光学显微镜、扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜，描述10只红腿刺豚鼠（Dasyprocta leporina—林奈，1758）腭上皮和结缔组织核心（CTCs）的结构和超微结构特征。我们在齿隙和硬腭中发现了9条腭嵴，软腭表面光滑。分层鳞状角质化上皮伴有固有层突起，软腭有腺簇。去除上皮后发现，硬腭和软腭两侧的CTCs呈圆锥形且密度较高。硬腭CTCs附近有神经纤维，软腭腺簇下方有肌肉组织。其结构和超微结构特征使硬腭保持稳定并固定于软腭两侧，而软腭中部具有更大的灵活性，从而有助于食物吞咽。我们得出结论，尽管刺豚鼠腭的形态在腭嵴的数量和分布以及圆锥形CTCs的形态方面有所不同，但其结构特征与其他哺乳动物相似。
