Morphological study of dorsal lingual papillae of the green toad (Bufo bufo)

Abstract

The present study investigated the structure of the dorsal lingual surface tongue of the toad, Bufo bufo habitat in the west of Iran. The tongue of the toad contains two types of lingual papillae; fungiform papillae and filiform papillae. The fungiform papillae are usually scattered among the filiform papil-lae and are believed to function in gustation and in the secretion of salivary fluid. Light microscopic observations showed that a non-keratinised pseudo stratified columnar epithelium with ciliated cells lined the lingual papillae. Scanning electron microscopic examinations revealed that a taste disc (honeycomb) was located at the apical surface of each fungiform papillae. The surface of the disc had a latticework pattern. However, no ciliated cells were observed in the surrounding area of the sensory disc. As a result, the morphology of the lingual epithelium of the Bufo Bufo is species-specific. How-ever, it is somewhat similar to that of Bufo japonicus and distinctly different from that of Bufo regu-laris.

Keywords

• green toad
• lingual papillae
• morphology