The hedgehog tongue is a tactile and taste organ which carries out various functions. Detailed functional and morphological studies are required to clearly define the relationship of the hedgehog tongue with taste, food palatability, mastication and swallowing of food, as well as the production of sounds. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the morphological characteristics of the European hedgehog tongue and the lifestyle of this animal, as well as to compare findings with the results of studies on other vertebrates. Gross and micro-anatomical light and scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that the hedgehog tongue could be divided in three areas, namely the apex, body and root. A keratinized stratified squamous epithelium, which was smooth on the ventral surface but bore four types of papillae on the dorsal surface, lined the tongue. Three types of these papillae were found to have gustatory functions and to express their activity in close relation with the salivary glands. These simple conical filiform papillae were situated caudally and distributed one after the other without a break. The dome-shaped fungiform papillae on the apex, with the highest distribution rate on the apex edge, were small, but those on the body and root were large. The three circular vallate papillae were arranged in a triangular shape. The foliate papillae with a few tiny projections, found in a shallow furrow, were situated between the root and the body. Most of the nerve fibers observed in different sections of the tongue tissue were of the unmyelinated type, confirming that the main task of the hedgehog tongue was its gustatory function.

From January to February 2008, 468 sheep carcasses (335 male and 133 female) in a Khosroshahr (suburb of Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province, Iran) abattoir were randomly selected for inspection. The aim of the study was to estimate the frequency of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) in sheep and to compare the results of bacterial cultures and histopathology of suspected cases. The mean age of the population was 2.5 years. One hundred ninety-seven cases containing 153 (77.7%) males and 44 (22.3%) females had prominent enlargement of one of the lymph nodes (i.e., prescapular, prefemoral, inguinal, supramammary, or midiastinal); these were removed with the surrounding tissue for further evaluation. For confirmed diagnosis of CLA, samples were sent for microbiology and pathology analysis. Standard bacteriological culture methods for isolation of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and tissue preparations for histopathological sections were performed. To evaluate the effect of age on the frequency of CLA, animals were categorized in four groups: under 1, 1–2, 2–3, and over 3 years of age. Based on the results, in 59 (12.60%) carcasses C. pseudotuberculosis was isolated, and in 94 (20.08%) of the cases histopathological studies revealed pathognomonic signs (lamellated exudates or onion ring) of CLA. The frequency of CLA based on bacteriological culture was 12.60% and on histopathological study 20.08%. In 37 (18.8%) of the carcasses, both bacteriological and histopathological studies confirmed CLA. The frequency of CLA following microscopic examination (20.08%) presented a more precise diagnosis compared to bacteriological culture (12.60%) and macroscopic evaluation of the lymph nodes (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a positive correlation rate between the bacteriological culture and histopathological study (r = 0.196, P = 0.006). The prescapular lymph node had the highest infection rate with 54 (1.70 ± 0.97) and supramammary lymph node had the lowest with two (0.07 ± 0.41) (P < 0.05). There was an increase in CLA detection with increasing age (P < 0.05), the mean age of animals with a positive CLA test were 2.92 years and in the oldest age group 31 (47%) cases had the highest infection.

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