Histology, lectin histochemistry and ultrastructure of interdigital gland in crossbred sheep

Abstract

Histology, lectin histochemistry and ultrastructure of interdigital gland in sheep was studied using six adult cross bred sheep of either sex collected from the Meat Technology Unit, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy. The manus and pes were detached from the rest of limbs and after recording the gross observations, the interdigital glands were fixed in 10 per cent neutral buffered formalin and processed for histological examinations. Stratified squamous epithelium with a prominent keratin layer lined the lumen, similar to the skin over the dorsal surface of manus and pes. The epidermis presented mucosal folds, which projected into the lumen. The dermis contained small sebaceous glands, hair follicles of different sizes, arrector pili muscles and apocrine sweat glands. The secretory epithelium of sweat glands was lined with a simple layer of cuboidal and relatively flattened cells. The excretory ducts of these glands were lined by cuboidal cells, with darker appearance than its secretory portion. The fibrous capsule was composed of dense connective tissue with collagen, adipose cells, blood vessels and nerve fibers. Glandular secretion and the granules in the stratum granolosum of the surface squamous epithelium showed positive reaction for lectin Ulex europaeus (UEA-I). The apocrine nature of sweat glands was revealed in the ultrastructural studies by scanning electron microscope. Keywords: Interdigital gland, sheep, histology, lectin histochemistry and ultrastructure

Evaluation of an In Situ Ovine Model as a Surrogate for Human Skin Injury Caused by High-Rate Blunt Impact

“…The skin thickness, which was a significant covariate in the PMHS injury risk functions, was largely homogeneous across the ovine body regions, showing insignificance as a covariate in the ovine risk functions [6]. The skin thickness measurements extracted from ultrasound in this study were in agreement with values previously found in the ovine population from other sources [22,23].…”

Seasonal investigation of the macroscopic and microscopic structure of the sinus interdigitalis in Hamdani crossbred sheep (Ovis aries)

“…It has been reported that the interdigital gland in ovine animals has a sweat gland component with dual secretory activity (Pourlis, 2010 ). In our study, following many studies (Abdi et al., 2020 ; Maya et al., 2020 ), a small number of hair follicles in the dermis close to the epidermis, sebaceous gland structures around the hair follicles and a large number of apocrine glands in the area close to the connective tissue capsules were observed. Contrary to Janicki et al.…”

“…It has been reported that the interdigital gland in ovine animals has a sweat gland component with dual secretory activity (Pourlis, 2010). In our study, following many studies (Abdi et al, 2020;Maya et al, 2020), a small number of hair follicles in the dermis close to the epidermis, sebaceous gland structures around the hair follicles and a large number of apocrine glands in the area close to the connective tissue capsules were observed. Contrary to Janicki et al (2003), who reported that the interdigital gland of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) was devoid of connective tissue capsule and sweat glands, the connective tissue capsules layer in our study consisted of a few fibrocytes and fibroblast layers, dense collagen fibres, adipose tissue and blood vessels.…”

“…In specimens collected during the breeding season, the lumen of the glands was particularly wide and the presence of light pink secretions was noted. The fibrous capsule around the gland was composed of a dense connective tissue containing blood vessels, nerves and fat cells (Maya et al, 2020). Aslan et al (2010) reported that lymph nodules were found in the dermis layer of the sinus interdigitalis in Tuj sheep.…”