The purpose of this study was to explore the morphologi- cal 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 super- ficial 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 μm in neonates, 687~962 μm in the weaning period of 60-day- old goats, and 1,068~1,567 μm 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.

The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological development of fungiform papillae in native Korean goats by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Tongues were removed from fetuses on days 120 and 150 of gestation and from juveniles on days 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 after birth. The sizes of fungiform papillae in the newborn were 225.0-250.0 μm, the weaning period of 60-day-old goats was 271-294 μm and the maturing period of 180-day-old goats was 385-398 μm, respectively. The primordia of fungiform papillae had the typical feature of a mushroom shape in a 120-day-old fetus. In a 150-day-old fetus (neonate), fungiform papillae had features similar to those of the adult form and showed a gradual increase in size with slight morphological changes until 150-day-old goats. Microridges, microplicae, and micropits were well developed on the epithelial surface of lingual papillae from 60 to 150-day-old goats. The results obtained in this study might provide some basic data on the mechanisms that control the morphogenesis and development of the lingual papillae in ruminants.