Morphological characteristics of the papillae and lingual epithelium of guinea pig (Cavia porcellus)

The structural elements, tridimensional aspects of the lingual papillae, yours connective tissue cores (CTCs) and the ultrastructure of the dorsal epithelium surface of the tongue of guinea pig are examined. Filiform papillae and their CTCs lie throughout the tongue surface, featuring subtypes and different shapes. Fungiform papillae are dome-shaped, and their CTCs are few, with heterogenic disposition among the filiform papillae in the lingual apex and body and in grooves stretching to the side margin among the foliate papillae towards the lingual apex. Foliate papillae are well developed, and their CTCs are composed of five pairs of parallel seams limited by deep grooves placed bilaterally in the caudal region. Two vallate papillae are observed in the caudal region and reveal specialized structures which are developed and differentiated when they present compound elements by a double epithelial projection, in a column, similar to the shape of the foliate papilla. Further, the epithelium is organized by layers with ultrastructural components. Therefore, we conclude that the structural descriptions, dimensional aspects of tongue papillae, their CTCs and the ultrastructure of the tongue epithelium of guinea pigs are similar to other rodent mammals, however, with new descriptions as double epithelial projection constituting each vallate papilla.