Fine structure of the submandibular salivary gland of the venomous short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda Say (Insectivora: Soricidae)

Abstract

Adult male short-tailed shrews, Blarina brevicauda, (Insectivora: Soricidae) were trapped in Virginia and Pennsylvania, anesthetized, and perfused via the left ventricle of the heart with fixative. The submandibular glands were dissected free and prepared for transmission electron microscopy. The lobular, compound tubuloacinar glands had secretory endpieces consisting of seromucous acini and serous tubules connected to intercalated ducts, granular ducts, striated ducts, and excretory ducts. The general cytology of the submandibular gland of Blarina shared morphological characters with individuals in several other mammalian orders and yet differed in many ways from another Insectivore, the European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus.