It has been described the cytology of the following parts of the respiratory system of some South American primates:
Callithrix jacchus and
Callithrix argentata melanura.
The nasal cavities are divided into three parts: a vestibule, covered with a stratified nonkeratinized squamous epithelium;
the respiratory portion, consisting of a pseudostratified columnar ciliated epithelium with goblet cells and the olfactory
portion which is also covered with a high respiratory epithelium without goblet cells.
The trachea is lined with a mucous membrane, whose epithelium is pseudostratified columnar ciliated with scarce goblet cells
in the proximal portion unlike to the distal one. In the dorsal portion of the trachea, at the level of the gap between the
two ends of incomplete cartilaginous rings, the epithelial lining is of transitional type. The incomplete hyaline cartilaginous
rings present centers of calcification.
The right and left lungs consist of two and three lobes respectively characteristic for these species, but they are not divided
into lobules by connective tissue as in other ones.
The bronchi, bronchioles and the respiratory portion, respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, alveolar sacs, and alveoli
present the typical respiratory structure with exception of their cartilaginous configuration; the cartilage continues as
far as the respiratory bronchioles and alveolar ducts. These last structures are formed by a thin squamous epithelium, in
which we observed two types of alveolar lining cells.
Key Words
Callithrix jacchus
-
Callithrix argentata melanura
- Comparative morphology - Histology - Respiratory system
This work was supported by grants from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas (CONICET) and EHIGE
program.
Postgraduated fellow from CONICET.
established Investigator and Director of EHIGE (Estudio Histológico comparado del Sistema de Glándulas Endócrinas) from CONICET.