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Abstract

It has been described the cytology of the following parts of the respiratory system of some South American primates:Callithrix jacchus andCallithrix 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.

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