Light and scanning electron microscopic features of the tongue in cattle egret

ABSTRACT Adult individuals of both sexes were sacrificed by decapitation and their tongues were teared out in order to be investigated. Cattle egret's tongue is distinguished into the apex, body, and root regions. A shallow median sulcus is apparently noticed on the dorsal surface of the tongue's body only. Histologically, the tongue mucosa is covered with a thick parakeratinized epithelium. The dorsal epithelia of the apex and body are densely packed with exfoliated superficial cells. However, the dorsal surface showed microridges observed on the surface epithelial cells. In the body region, the gland's outlets are integrated in glandular patches on the top of keratinized folds at both sides of the median sulcus. The ventral surface of the tongue is devoid of any glandular outlets. The egret's tongue is supported by a paraglossum cartilage wrapped up with a fibrous perichondrium and striated muscle fibers. It extends ventrally as paraglossale apex then flattened in the body giving the corpus paraglossale which bifurcates caudally in the root giving paraglossalis caudalis. The tongue exhibits certain features that are unique as an adaptation to food intake, the type of food, lifestyles and bird's habitat with no any sex‐specific differences. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:595–603, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.