Abdelhakeem Fatma, Mohamed Salma A, Abdelsabour-Khalaf Mohammed, Soliman Soha, Abdalla Kamal E H
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt.
Department of Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt.
BMC Vet Res. 2025 May 7;21(1):325. doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04745-5.
The present investigation represents the first attempt to fully describe the morphology of the geese tongue. Tongue has an essential biological role in all vertebrates, it is considered a prehensive organ, as it is responsible for food collection, also aids in mastication and swallowing. Since the tongue morphology was varied among bird species linked to different reasons such as beak shape, environment, feeding habits and type of diet, that's why the purpose of this study was to investigate the morphology of the geese tongue in detail concerning its function.
Eleven adult healthy Egyptian geese of both sexes were used in this study, the heads of these birds were collected, and the tongue processed for gross investigation, morphometrical analysis, light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.
The morphology of geese's tongue was unique, had narrow elongated shape with round thin free apex, with ventral keratinized lingual nail and caudal torus linguae. The apex and body had two groups of different shaped and sized marginal lingual papillae. The rostral group was 9-10 narrow spaced small thin conical papillae with pointed apices on the lateral margin of the tongue apex. And the caudal group was 6-7 widely spaced large thorn like conical papillae, positioned on the lateral margin of the caudal portion of the lingual apex and the body. Geese's tongue supported with entoglossal bone that extended from apex tip to transverse row of papillae where articulate with basibranchial bone.
The collected data described that the geese tongue was elongated in shape, its dorsum covered with keratinized stratified squamous epithelium and had two groups of mechanical marginal papillae which were necessary for the herbivorous birds as geese, depended on grassing as feeding behavior. Besides keratinization is a sign of tongue modification protecting lingual tissue against hard food particles. Conducting morphological results about geese tongue offers guidance and insights for its adaptation function and the management of this bird species.
本研究首次全面描述了鹅舌的形态。舌头在所有脊椎动物中都具有重要的生物学作用，它被认为是一个综合性器官，负责食物采集，也有助于咀嚼和吞咽。由于鸟类的舌头形态因喙的形状、环境、食性和饮食类型等不同原因而有所差异，所以本研究的目的是详细研究鹅舌的形态及其功能。
本研究使用了11只成年健康的埃及鹅，雌雄皆有。收集这些鹅的头部，对舌头进行大体观察、形态测量分析、光学显微镜检查和扫描电子显微镜检查。
鹅舌的形态独特，呈狭窄的细长形，游离端圆形且薄，腹侧有角质化的舌甲和尾侧舌隆突。舌尖和舌体有两组形状和大小不同的边缘舌乳头。前部一组是9 - 10个狭窄间隔的小而薄的锥形乳头，位于舌尖外侧边缘，顶端尖锐。后部一组是6 - 7个间隔较宽的大刺状锥形乳头，位于舌尖后部和舌体的外侧边缘。鹅舌由内舌骨支撑，内舌骨从舌尖尖端延伸至乳头横行处，与基鳃骨相连。
收集的数据表明，鹅舌形状细长，其背面覆盖有角质化的复层鳞状上皮，有两组机械性边缘乳头，这对于像鹅这样以吃草为食性行为的食草鸟类来说是必要的。此外，角质化是舌头适应性变化的标志，可保护舌组织免受硬食物颗粒的伤害。关于鹅舌的形态学研究结果为其适应功能及该鸟类物种的管理提供了指导和见解。
