Lingual Morphometrics and Dentition in Two Mammalian Species: A comparative Study | ||||
Egyptian Journal of Veterinary Sciences | ||||
Articles in Press, Corrected Proof, Available Online from 20 January 2025 PDF (1.62 MB) | ||||
Document Type: Original Article | ||||
DOI: 10.21608/ejvs.2025.331132.2463 | ||||
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Authors | ||||
ahmed hassan abdelnaeem ![]() ![]() | ||||
1Zoology Department, faculty of science, Al azhar University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
2Zoology departement, faculty of science, Azhar University | ||||
3Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
Abstract | ||||
This study compared the macroscopic anatomical features of the tongue and its papillae between the herbivorous rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and the insectivorous hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus). Six tongues from each species were examined under a stereomicroscope for gross morphology. The tongues' length, width, and thickness were measured in both species. In both, the dorsal surface of the tongue is divided into three areas: apex, corpus, and radix. The rabbit's tongue is medium-sized, muscular, light hazel-colored, with a rounded apex, while the hedgehog's tongue is smaller, thinner, and has a tapering apex. Both species have filiform papillae covering the dorsal surface and scattered fungiform papillae. The rabbit’s tongue features a median groove in the apex and a torus lingua in the corpus, which are absent in the hedgehog. In the radix, the rabbit has two circumvallate papillae, while the hedgehog has three in a triangular shape. Both species have foliate papillae on the tongue's lateral regions. Statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in body weight, tongue weight, relative tongue weight, tongue length, and dentition between the species. The rabbit's tongue is significantly longer, broader, and thicker than the hedgehog’s. Morphometric ratios of the tongue apex are significantly greater (P < 0.01) in the rabbit, while the tongue radix is wider and thicker in the hedgehog. | ||||
Keywords | ||||
Oryctolagus cuniculus; Hemiechinus auritus; Tongue; Apex; Corpus; Radix; Papillae; dentation | ||||
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