The postnatal changes in the density of sensory nerve endings in the oral mucosa of the cat
Tazaki, M.; Sakada, S.
Anatomischer Anzeiger 165(2-3): 131-142
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-2786 PMID: 3400879 Document Number: 323233
The changes that occur in the distribution and density of the encapsulated endings and Merkel cell-neurite complexes of the lingual gingival and alveolar mucosa of the mandible of kittens from birth to 28 d of age were observed through the use of methylene blue vital staining. The distribution of encapsulated endings showed a tendency to increase over the total area of the mucosae, but Merkel cell-neurite complexes tended to group into bands across the gingivae. While the density of the nerve endings of the former showed a continuous increase over the time period from the day of birth, when they totalled 13/cm2, to the 28th d by which that figure had increased to 144/cm2, the latter showed no such marked increased, totalling only 35/cm2 and 50/cm2, respectively. Further observations were made of the ultrastructures of organized endings in adult cat.