ANATOMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL FEATURES OF LINGUAL PAPILLAE ON TONGUE IN SQUIRREL (Sciurus vulgaris)

This study examined the anatomical and histological features of lingual papillae in squirrels. Two adult male squirrel tongues were used as the material in the study. Three parts were detected in the tongue: apex, corpus, and radix. There was a median sulcus on the apex of the tongue and an intermolar prominence on the body of the tongue. Five types of papillae such as filiform, conical, fungiform, vallate, and foliate were observed on the tongues of the squirrels. Filiform papillae were located from the apex of the tongue to the root as the dominant papilla. Conical papillae were observed on the intermolar prominence, on the sides of the tongue root, and between the vallate papillae. The direction of this papillae was oriented caudomedially. Fungiform papillae were randomly distributed among the filiform papillae. These papillae were mushroom shaped and had slits that separated them from filiform papillae. Three vallata papillae, arranged in a triangle with the apex pointing backward, were found on the root of the tongue. These papillae were surrounded by a trench. Foliate papillae were observed like mucosal folds in the caudolateral part of the tongue. On light microscopic examination, lingual papillae were covered with stratified squamous epithelium and had connective tissues. There were varying degrees of keratinization on the epithelial surfaces of the papillae. Although taste buds were seen in the epithelial layer of the fungiform and vallate papillae, they were not observed in the epithelium of the grooves of the foliate papillae. The findings obtained in the study were compared with those obtained from the lingual papillae of other rodents, and similarities and differences were revealed. Anatomske in histološke značilnosti jezičnih papil na jeziku pri veverici (Sciurus vulgaris) Izvleček: V tej študiji smo preučevali anatomske in histološke značilnosti jezičnih papil pri vevericah. V študiji smo uporabili dva jezika odraslih samcev veveric. Določili smo tri dele jezika: vrh, telo in koren. Na vrhnjem delu jezika je bila sredinska brazda, na telesu jezika pa medmolarna izboklina. Na jezikih veveric smo opazili pet vrst papil: nitaste, konične, gobaste, otočkaste in listaste. Nitaste papile so bile prevladujoče, prisotne od vrha do korena jezika. Konične papile so bile prisotne na intermolarnem izrastku, na straneh korena jezika in med otočkastimi papilami. Usmerjene so bile kavdomedialno. Gobaste papile so bile naključno razporejene med nitastimi pa