Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Siirt University, Siirt, Turkey.
Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey.
Vet Med Sci. 2024 May;10(3):e1450. doi: 10.1002/vms3.1450.
The odours of different body parts and structures, such as external genitalia, female urine, ventral tail radix, infraorbital sinus and interdigital sinus, have a strong attractiveness for rams. The sinus interdigitalis is considered an important trail gland for sexual behaviour, as its odour is included in the list of strongly attractive structures for male animals during the breeding season, being important in pheromone production.
In the present study, the effects of sex and breeding season on the morphological and histological structure of the interdigital gland were investigated in Hamdani crossbred sheep (Ovis aries).
Sinus interdigitalis glands located on the forelimbs and hind limbs were collected from 10 male and 10 female sheep during both breeding and non-breeding seasons. The gland's position in the forelimbs and hind limbs was determined radiographically. The glands were examined macroscopically, histologically and immunohistochemically in both seasons.
In all animals, the topographic location of the gland between the digits was determined to be distal to the phalanx proximalis and at the level of the phalanx media. The mean weight of the gland in male and female animals was 1.07 ± 0.03 and 1.4 ± 0.11 g, respectively. In general, the results of morphometric measurements were higher during the breeding season, and the increase was more pronounced in female animals. In histological examinations, it was determined that both neck and body parts of the tissues consisted of a structure consisting of a connective tissue capsule at the outermost, dermis, epidermis and lumen underneath. Immunohistochemically staining revealed that oestrogen receptors showed positive immunoreactions only in the intracytoplasmic localization of apocrine sweat glands. In terms of morphological, histological and oestrogen receptors, it was thought that the gland may play a role in sexual communication.
不同身体部位和结构的气味，如外生殖器、女性尿液、尾根腹侧、眶下窦和趾间窦，对公羊具有很强的吸引力。趾间窦被认为是性行为的重要追踪腺，因为在繁殖季节，其气味被包括在对雄性动物具有强烈吸引力的结构列表中，在信息素产生中很重要。
本研究旨在探讨性和繁殖季节对 Hamdani 杂交绵羊（Ovis aries）趾间腺形态和组织结构的影响。
在繁殖期和非繁殖期，从 10 只雄性和 10 只雌性绵羊的前肢和后肢采集趾间窦腺。通过放射照相术确定腺在前后肢的位置。在两个季节中，对腺体进行宏观、组织学和免疫组织化学检查。
在所有动物中，确定腺在趾间的拓扑位置位于近节指骨近端和中节指骨水平之间。雄性和雌性动物的腺体平均重量分别为 1.07±0.03 和 1.4±0.11g。一般来说，繁殖季节的形态测量结果较高，而雌性动物的增加更为明显。在组织学检查中，确定组织的颈部和体部均由最外层的结缔组织囊、真皮、表皮和下方腔组成。免疫组织化学染色显示，雌激素受体仅在顶浆分泌汗腺的细胞质定位中呈阳性免疫反应。就形态、组织学和雌激素受体而言，该腺体可能在性通讯中发挥作用。
