The frenula of the papilla ilealis of the swine

The junction between the small and the large intestines has been studied in several animals since this region makes an important intestinal transition. Like humans the swine have a structure that forms a boundary between the cecum and the ascending colon — the frenulum papillae ilealis dorsalis and ventralis. Nevertheless the morphology and physiology of this is poorly known. The aim of this work is to describe the morphology of the swine's frenula and to trace some elements of comparative anatomy. The macroscopic research was done on 33 animals and the results were analyzed by Wilcoxon test. The arrangement of the tunica muscularis was studied in 12 animals by dissection, after immersion in 50% nitric acid solution, and the light microscopic studies were performed in 15 animals. In all of the cases it was observed that it was the frenulum papillae ilealis, dorsal and ventral, which formed the internal boundary between the cecum and the ascending colon. They were constituted of the tunica mucosa, tela submucosa and tunica muscularis of the large intestine. The swine's frenula papillae ilealis participate in the functioning of the ileocecocolic “pylorus”. The macro- and microscopic morphology of the swine's frenula are similar to that of the man, indicating that this animal would be a good model for the experimental studies.