GROSS ANATOMICAL AND BIOMETRICAL STUDIES ON THE TONGUE OF AN ADULT SMALL INDIAN CIVET CAT

摘要

The gross morphological and biometrical features of the tongue of an adult female small Indian civet cat were investigated. The tongue was pale pink in colour, and the tip was rounded with Its margin gradually thinning out ventrally. The tongue showed five types of lingual papillae. The entire dorsum linguae was covered by pointed and distinctly caudally directed filiform papillae except at the lateral edges and on the dorsum of the body about 1 cm caudal to its tip. The body of the tongue was almost uniformly wide but tapered at the root. Filiform papillae thickly Populated the dorsum of the body but their number decreased towards the tip where their length increased. Fungiform papillae were button like and were present on the dorsum linguae and lateral edges of the tongue. The fungiform papillae of the dorsum linguae of the body were larger in size than those at the tip. The vallate papillae were rounded and oval in shape, and were 6 in number arranged in two rows in the form of a "V" with the apex directed cranially. There were two foliate papillae, located at the lateral edges of the tongue at the level of the vallate papillae. Numerous pointed thorny papillae were present on the dorsum of the root of the tongue. The detailed biometry of the tongue was also documented.