Comparative Anatomical and Histological Studies of the Mandibular gland of Camel, Ox, Sheep and Goat

Abstract

The present study was conducted to describe the anatomical and histological features of mandibular glands in camel, ox, sheep and goat. Forty heads of apparently healthy adult camel, ox, sheep and goat (ten heads for each) were collected from Al Salam slaughter house, Omdurman, Sudan. The mandibular gland was irregularly oval in camel, elongated in ox and irregularly-shaped in sheep and irregularly triangular in goat. It was located under the mandible and covered partially by the parotid gland. It weighed 30.56�0.554 g in camel, 72.6�0.811 g in ox, 2.14�0.476 g in sheep and 2.86�0.595 g in goat. It measured 9.26�0441 cm, 10.7�0.393 cm, 5.14�0.206 cm and 4.9�0.363 cm in length, 4.72�0.387 cm, 3.94�0.463 cm, 2.92�0.376 cm and 2.88�0.214 cm in width and 1.08�0.164 cm, 0.74�0.114 cm, 0.34�0.114 cm and 0.29�0.074 cm in thickness in camel, ox, sheep and goat respectively. The mandibular duct passed lateral to the digastricus muscle, ventral to the pterygoideus muscle, along the lower jaw between the mylohyoid and geniohyoid muscles to the external surface of the styloglossal muscle in camel, ox, sheep and goat. It opened in the oral cavity in front of a mucosal fold in camel and in front of the sublingual caruncle in the ox, sheep and goat. The duct measured 32.2�2.280 cm, 40.2�1.924 cm, 18.4�2.419 cm, 16.8�1.483 cm in length and 0.22�0.447 cm, 0.22�0.447 cm, 0.18�0.447 cm and 0.18�0.447 cm in diameter in camel, ox, sheep, and goat respectively. The gland was compound tubulo-acinar in camel, ox and sheep and compound tubule-alveolar in goat. It was seromucous with predominant mucous acini in camel. The duct system was composed of intercalated, striated, intralobular and interlobar ducts different in locations, epithelial linings and diameters