ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to explore the morphological characteristics of developing lentiform papilla (LP) in Korean native goats by scanning electron microscopy (SAM). Tongues were removed from fetuses on days 90, 120, neonates, and juveniles on days 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180. In prenatal development, the primordia of LP in 90-day-old fetuses were round and spotted on the inner most part of the torus linguae of the tongue. Primordia of LP in 120-day-old fetuses also had a lens-like shape. In neonates, LP displayed similar features as the adult one. In postnatal juveniles on days 30 and 60, LP continually increased in size without much difference in structure compared to that of neonates. By postnatal day 90, detached pieces of keratinized superficial epithelia were observed. Microridges and microplicae were well developed on the epithelial surface of LP in 60- to 120-day-old goats. The lengths of LP were 476~514 microm in neonates, 687~962 microm in the weaning period of 60-day-old goats, and 1,068~1,567 microm in the maturing period of 180-day-old goats. These findings indicate that goat LP has different sizes and shapes from those of other species during development.