Comparative anatomy of the vomeronasal cartilage in mammals: mink, cat, dog, pig, cow and horse

Abstract

The vomeronasal cartilages of mink, cat, dog, pig, cow and horse were studied by dissection, microdissection and by means of series of transverse sections. In all the species studied the cartilage is of hyaline type and the medial sheet is well-defined and perfectly moulded to the adjacent bone. However, interspecies differences are apparent in the manner in which the medial sheet associates and eventually fuses with the cartilage of the incisive duct; the morphology of the horse vomeronasal cartilage is particularly distinctive in this respect. The lateral sheet of the vomeronasal cartilage, although always present, has a different arrangement in each species studied. Similarly, the gaps in the lateral sheet (corresponding to the opening of the vomeronasal organ) differ among the species studied in form, location and number.