The structure of the dorsal lingual epithelium of the frog, Rana ridibunda was investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy. Irregular, undulant papillae were distribu-ted over the entire dorsum of the tongue. These papillae were lined by pseudostratified columnar or sometimes simple columnar epithelium. Electron microscopy revealed that, epithelium of the papillae was composed of several kinds of cells: electrondense granular cells, mucus cells, and ciliated cells. Granular cells were located over all the papillar epithelium, and these cells contained numerous electrondense granules and a few electronlucent vacuoles. In addition to these granular cells, a number of ciliated cells that contained cilia and microvilli located on their free surface, and mucus cells that contained mucus granules in almost all the cytoplasm were located within the epithelium. The purpose of this study was to clarify the cytological and histological structure of the dorsal lingual epithelium of Rana ridibunda.
Key words: Frog, lingual epithelium, and electron microscopy
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