Blood vessels in the tongue of the kitten: scanning electron microscopy of microcorrosion casts.

The subepithelial blood vessels of the dorsal surface of the tongue in young kittens has been studied by scanning electron microscopy of micro-corrosion casts. These vessels entwine the vallate papillae distributed in the pharyngeal part of the tongue, form hairpin loops in association with the small conical papillae along the sides and at the tip of the tongue and establish regularly distributed subpapillary conglomerations over almost its entire oral part. These conglomerations lie directly on veins. Small arterioles reach the vessels surrounding the individual subpapillary conglomerations. By contrast with the arrangement of the superficial vascular bed in the tongue of the dog and some other mammals, no anastomoses between arteries and veins were observed in the kitten between the vessels which supply and drain the subepidermal capillaries.