A morphological, morphometrical and histological investigation of the interdigital gland in Hasmer and Hasak sheep

Abstract

The interdigital glands of sheep perform various functions including those pertaining to sexual behaviors. Morphological and histological structure of the gland demonstrates differences among species. The aim of this study is to examine the morphological and histological structure of Hasak and Hasmer sheep's interdigital glands and to determine the differences with other sheep breeds. For this research, we selected 7 Hasak and 7 Hasmer female sheep. After scarification, the feet were obtained and used for anatomical and histological examinations. For the histological examination, the interdigital gland tissues were stained with Crossman modified triple, Periodic acid Schiff (PAS) and Alcian blue (AB) staining. The morphometric analysis results, mean values of weight, body length, body diameter, flexura, ductus length, ductus diameter, were observed as 0. 80mm, 14.61mm, 5.98mm, 5.62mm, 26.58mm and 3.25mm respectively in Hasak and 0.8mm, 15.46mm, 6.37mm, 5.70mm, 24.52 and 3.52 in Hasmer sheep. The histochemical staining revealed that the apocrine secretion of this gland was PAS positive and AB negative. The weight, body length, body diameter, flexura, ductus length and ductus diameter in the forefoot's interdigital glands of both Hasak and Hasmer sheep were higher in a statistically significant manner than those of the hindfeet's glands.

A Morphological and Histological Investigation of the Sinus Interdigitalis in Konya Merino Sheep

“…In this study, the body length and diameter of the sinus interdigitalis in the forefeet and hind feet of Konya merino sheep were found to be 18.78±0.49, respectively; 6.97±0.45 and 13.57±0.37; It was determined to be 5.67±0.29. In accordance with the data of the literature (Behzad Mobini and Adermanabadi, 2017;Kara et al, 2020) of our finding of this situation, it is concluded that the body length and diameter of the forefeet are greater than the hind feet. However, Demiraslan et al (2014) reported that the body diameter of the sinus interdigitalis of the hind feet is larger than that of the forefeet in Kıvırcık sheep, whereas Uğurlu (1991) reports that there is no significant morphological difference between the sinus interdigitalis in the forefeet and hind feet.…”

“…According to this information, the weight of the sinus interdigitalis of Konya merino sheep is higher than the Hasak and Hasmer sheep and lower than the Hemshin and Awassi sheep. As reported in the literature (Gürbüz et al, 2017;Yılmaz et al, 2017;Kara et al, 2020), it was found that the gland in the forefeet was heavier and larger in size than the gland in the hind feet. Uğurlu (1991), reported that there was no difference in the size and shape of the sinus interdigitalis in the fore and hind feet of sheep.…”

“…According to this finding, Hasak (Kara et al, 2020) (29.65 and 3.60;23.51 and 2.91), Hasmer (Kara et al, 2020) (26.39 and 3.77;22.64 and 3.27), Hemshin (Gürbüz et al, 2017) (20.90 and 4.60;18.95 and 3.05mm) and Iran Bakhtiari sheep (Behzad Mobini and Adermanabadi ,2017) (3.50 and 17.7;2.88 × 15.5), but it does not match the data on the forefeet (25.03 and 2.01) and hind feet (27.23 and 2.05) of the Kıvırcık sheep (Demiraslan et al, 2014). The body length and diameter of the sinus interdigitalis in the forefeet and hind feet, respectively, Hasak (Kara et al, 2020) 16.33 and 6.73; 12.89 and 5.24, Hasmer (Kara et al, 2020) 17.25 and 7.15; It was reported that the mean values of the forefeet and hind feet were 13.67 and 5.59, and 17.42 and 8.12 in the Awassi sheep (Yılmaz et al, 2017). In this study, the body length and diameter of the sinus interdigitalis in the forefeet and hind feet of Konya merino sheep were found to be 18.78±0.49, respectively; 6.97±0.45 and 13.57±0.37; It was determined to be 5.67±0.29.…”

“…In Hasak (Kara et al, 2020) sheep, the interdigital gland weights of the forefeet and hind feet were 1.05 and 0.56, Hasmer (Kara et al, 2020) 1 and 0.6, 1.88 and 0.95 in Hemshin (Gürbüz et al, 2017), and 1.25 and 0.81 in Awassi sheep (Yılmaz et al, 2017), respectively. It was determined as 1.13±0.12 and 0.62±0.05 in Konya merino sheep.…”

Gross, Microanatomical and Ultrastructural Studies of Interdigital Gland in Madras Red Sheep (Ovis aries)

“…The difference might be due to variation in the average body weight between these two species. Kara et al (2020) observed that the size of the interdigital gland was larger in forefeet when compared to hindfeet in Hasakans Hasmer sheep.…”