Olfactory epithelium and ontogeny of the nasal chambers in the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus).

Autor: Farnkopf IC; College of Arts and Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences, Integrated Sciences Building, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA.; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, USA., George JC; Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, Alaska, USA., Kishida T; Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka, Japan.; Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan., Hillmann DJ; Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA., Suydam RS; Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, Alaska, USA., Thewissen JGM; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) [Anat Rec (Hoboken)] 2022 Mar; Vol. 305 (3), pp. 643-667. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jun 11.
DOI: 10.1002/ar.24682
Abstrakt: In a species of baleen whale, we identify olfactory epithelium that suggests a functional sense of smell and document the ontogeny of the surrounding olfactory anatomy. Whales must surface to breathe, thereby providing an opportunity to detect airborne odorants. Although many toothed whales (odontocetes) lack olfactory anatomy, baleen whales (mysticetes) have retained theirs. Here, we investigate fetal and postnatal specimens of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). Computed tomography (CT) reveals the presence of nasal passages and nasal chambers with simple ethmoturbinates through ontogeny. Additionally, we describe the dorsal nasal meatuses and olfactory bulb chambers. The cribriform plate has foramina that communicate with the nasal chambers. We show this anatomy within the context of the whole prenatal and postnatal skull. We document the tunnel for the ethmoidal nerve (ethmoid foramen) and the rostrolateral recess of the nasal chamber, which appears postnatally. Bilateral symmetry was apparent in the postnatal nasal chambers. No such symmetry was found prenatally, possibly due to tissue deformation. No nasal air sacs were found in fetal development. Olfactory epithelium, identified histologically, covers at least part of the ethmoturbinates. We identify olfactory epithelium using six explicit criteria of mammalian olfactory epithelium. Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of olfactory marker protein (OMP), which is only found in mature olfactory sensory neurons. Although it seems that these neurons are scarce in bowhead whales compared to typical terrestrial mammals, our results suggest that bowhead whales have a functional sense of smell, which they may use to find prey.
(© 2021 American Association for Anatomy.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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