The nasolacrimal duct of anuran amphibians: suggestions on its functional role in vomeronasal perception.

Journal of Anatomy
Christine Nowack, Angela Wöhrmann-Repenning

Abstract

Tear secretions discharged by the Harderian gland are suggested to function as a solvent for molecules sensed by the vomeronasal organ (VNO) in anurans. It has been assumed that chemical stimuli are absorbed at the surface of the eye to be carried - together with the lacrimal fluid - into the nasal cavity via the nasolacrimal duct. In the study presented herein, we examined the intranasal anatomy of 10 different anuran species to analyse the opening region of the nasolacrimal duct and its functional relationship with the VNO and the external naris. In addition, vital staining of the nasal cavities was conducted. Our results indicate that stimuli reaching the VNO are more likely to be ingested through the nostril than via the eye. In many cases the intranasal orifice of the nasolacrimal duct shows a close proximity to the external naris and simultaneously we observed a noticeable distance to the VNO. We suggest that the secretions of the Harderian gland are carried to the external naris by the nasolacrimal duct, where they bind chemical stimuli that are subsequently actively transported into the VNO. In some of the investigated species the opening region of the tear duct was situated in a more caudal part of the nasal cavity and...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jul 29, 2011·Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy : SRA·Yong-Ho KimHyun-Ho Kwak
Jan 18, 2007·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Simo HemiläTom Reuter
Apr 17, 2016·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·Christine Nowack, Miguel Vences
Dec 29, 2017·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·Dustin S SiegelStanley E Trauth
Nov 29, 2020·Cell and Tissue Research·Lucas David JungblutAndrea G Pozzi
Nov 3, 2020·The Journal of Poultry Science·Takafumi WatanabeKohzy Hiramatsu

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