Schumann Sven, Munk Jan R, Schmeisser Michael J, Staeber Moritz
Institute of Anatomy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Institute of Anatomy, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany.
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2025 May 20;13:1590311. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1590311. eCollection 2025.
In 1912, the veterinary anatomist Eberhard Ackerknecht described morphologically highly variable epithelial invaginations behind the medial mandibular incisors. This orobasal organ (of Ackerknecht) is present in different mammalian species including humans, but its presence in mice was under debate in literature. While the function of the orobasal organ is still unknown, it might play a role in the development of cysts of the oral floor.
H&E-stained histological serial slides of the developing oral floor of C57BL/6J mice embryos were investigated (n = 40).
The orobasal organ was present in mice and developed between prenatal days E15 and E17 (prevalence in E15 embryos: 0%, prevalence in E17 embryos: 90.5%). The organ was present both in male and female embryos. In E17, the organ had an average size of 68.75 (±41.1) μm x 58.75 (±8.5) μm x 345 (±28.3) μm (length x depth x width).
While the existence of an orobasal organ was already shown for pre- and postnatal rats, there was only one publication dealing with the orobasal organ in mice. In this study, adult mice were investigated and no orobasal organ was found. Here, we demonstrate the existence of an orobasal organ in mice, at least in embryos. The presence of the orobasal organ in a common model organism will help to investigate its pre- and postnatal development, as well as possible physiological functions of this structure.
1912年，兽医解剖学家埃伯哈德·阿克克内希特描述了下颌内侧门齿后方形态高度可变的上皮内陷。这种（阿克克内希特的）口底器官存在于包括人类在内的不同哺乳动物物种中，但文献中对于其在小鼠体内是否存在存在争议。虽然口底器官的功能仍然未知，但它可能在口底囊肿的发生中起作用。
对C57BL/6J小鼠胚胎发育中的口底进行苏木精-伊红染色的组织学连续切片研究（n = 40）。
口底器官存在于小鼠体内，在胚胎期第15天（E15）至第17天（E17）之间发育（E15胚胎中的发生率：0%，E17胚胎中的发生率：90.5%）。该器官在雄性和雌性胚胎中均有存在。在E17时，该器官的平均大小为68.75（±41.1）μm×58.75（±8.5）μm×345（±28.3）μm（长×深×宽）。
虽然已经证明产前和产后大鼠存在口底器官，但只有一篇关于小鼠口底器官的出版物。在这项研究中，对成年小鼠进行了研究，未发现口底器官。在这里，我们证明了小鼠中存在口底器官，至少在胚胎中存在。在一种常见的模式生物中存在口底器官将有助于研究其产前和产后发育以及该结构可能的生理功能。
