SEM examination of the dorsal lingual papillae of pregnant rats.

摘要

To our knowledge there are no histomorphological studies examining the lingual papillae in pregnancy. Therefore, this present study was planned. The purpose of this study was to clarify different physiological results and to investigate whether there are any changes on the dorsal surface of the rat tongue during pregnancy. On days 7 and 14 of pregnancy, superficial epithelial configurations of the lingual papillae (circumvallate, fungiform, filiform) in pregnant rats were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that there were some differences in topographic configurations of these papillae in pregnant rats compared with controls. The obtained changes by SEM may reflect something which occurs in the lingual papillae during pregnancy in rat. There may be a correlation between the alterations of some hormone levels in pregnancy and some morphological changes of the lingual papillae.