抄録
The tip of the cat tongue was examined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Many filiform papillae were densely distributed over its dorsal surface. At low magnification, all of the filiform papillae were seen to be slightly inclined toward the back. Each filiform papilla had a baso-frontal circular slope and some conical twigs were arranged in a semicircle from the back of the slope. Histologically, the keratinized layer was thickest in the epithelium on the posterior side of filiform papillae. The surface of this area contained abundant pits and hollows. A cornified layer was also observed on the anterior side of filiform papillae, but it was not as thick as on the posterior side of filiform papillae. The cell surface of this area contained faint microridges. The interpapillary epithelium showed little evidence of keratinization, but well-developed microridges were visible on its surface. From these observations, it appears that microridges are lost from the epithelial surface in conjunction with the advance of keratinization.
