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Increased vascularity of the lingual salt glands of the estuarine crocodile, Crocodylus porosus , kept in hyperosmotic salinity
Author(s) -
Franklin Craig E.,
Grigg Gordon C.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.1052180204
Subject(s) - crocodile , crocodylus , biology , anatomy , salt gland , tongue , juvenile , alligator , pathology , ecology , endocrinology , secretion , medicine
Methyl methacrylate corrosion casts were made of the blood‐vascular system of the lingual salt glands of the estuarine crocodile, Crocodylus porosus , and examined with light and scanning electron microscopy. The 28–40 individual salt glands, each opening separately via a single pore onto the dorsal surface of the tongue, are supplied by a pair of lingual arteries. Each gland is richly vascularized and is composed of 14–20 lobular sub‐units, each having a dense network of capillaries. The blood flow in each gland is from the centre to its periphery, opposite to the direction of the flow of secretions in the ducts of the gland. The main collecting duct leading from the gland to the external pore was well vascularized. The blood supply to the glands of juvenile crocodiles raised in 20‰ salt water was more dense than in freshwater and, from cast masses, had a three‐fold greater vascular volume. This study provides the first evidence which shows that the salt glands of crocodiles are morphologically labile and can adapt to the environmental salinity. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.