Abstract
Although the most intensively studied mammalian olfactory system is that of the mouse, in which olfactory chemical cues of one kind or another are detected in four different nasal areas [the main olfactory epithelium (MOE), the septal organ (SO), Grüneberg's ganglion, and the sensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ (VNO)], the extraordinarily sensitive olfactory system of the dog is also an important model that is increasingly used, for example in genomic studies of species evolution. Here we describe the topography and extent of the main olfactory and vomeronasal sensory epithelia of the dog, and we report finding no structures equivalent to the Grüneberg ganglion and SO of the mouse. Since we examined adults, newborns, and fetuses we conclude that these latter structures are absent in dogs, possibly as the result of regression or involution. The absence of a vomeronasal component based on VR2 receptors suggests that the VNO may be undergoing a similar involutionary process.
Highlights
The dog is increasingly appreciated in biomedical research as a species that, unlike purpose-bred laboratory animals, shares the genetic, and clinical variety of human patients (Karlsson and Lindblad-Toh, 2008)
The presentation, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of tumors is a major current concern (McEntee, 2004; Turek and Lana, 2012; Mason et al, 2013), but the olfactory mucosa of the nasal cavity has attracted clinical interest because of its unique maintenance of a population of basal cells supporting the continual regeneration of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) (Graziadei and Monti-Graziadei, 1979); the intraspinal implantation of cells derived from autologous olfactory mucosa cultures has recently been successful in ameliorating the effects of spinal cord injuries in companion dogs (Granger et al, 2012)
The animal in which the mammalian olfactory system has been most intensively studied, the nasal mucosa features four separate olfactory areas: the main olfactory epithelium (MOE), the septal organ (SO), the ganglion of Grüneberg (GG), and the vomeronasal sensory epithelium [VNsE, not to be confused with the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of which it forms a part] (Breer et al, 2006; Munger et al, 2009; Ma, 2010; Barrios et al, 2014). These four sensory areas can be considered as the points of entry to four olfactory subsystems (OSbS), the integration of which at higher levels is a focus of current research
Summary
The dog is increasingly appreciated in biomedical research as a species that, unlike purpose-bred laboratory animals, shares the genetic, and clinical variety of human patients (Karlsson and Lindblad-Toh, 2008). The animal in which the mammalian olfactory system has been most intensively studied, the nasal mucosa features four separate olfactory areas: the main olfactory epithelium (MOE), the septal organ (SO), the ganglion of Grüneberg (GG), and the vomeronasal sensory epithelium [VNsE, not to be confused with the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of which it forms a part] (Breer et al, 2006; Munger et al, 2009; Ma, 2010; Barrios et al, 2014) These four sensory areas can be considered as the points of entry to four olfactory subsystems (OSbS), the integration of which at higher levels is a focus of current research. This four-subsystem scheme is by no means exhibited by all mammals, or even by all macrosmatic mammals (Salazar and Sánchez-Quinteiro, 2009)
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