2000 Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 2-9
In the present study, the microvascular cast specimens (MVCS) of the circumvallate papillae (CvP) and foliate papillae (FoP) of the zinc-deficient (Zn-deft) rats were compared with those of a control group in order to observe and assess the effects on the microvasclar morphological changes of CvP and FoP in the Zn-deft group using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The main clear changes in the mild and serious case of CvP and FoP relating to the taste sense in the Zn-deft group were misshape, deformation and disturbed MVCS of the papillae body (PB) and the moat-like structure (MO) of CvP, and disturbed distribution of the trench-like structure (TR) and hole-like structure (HO) of FoP. In both CvP and FoP, the damage figures in the serious case were more remarkable than those in the mild case. The results suggest that the Zn-deft condition interferes with the microvascular circulation to CvP and FoP and their taste cells.
