Features of structure of nerve motor endings in the tongue of normal and dehydrated rats
Authors: Popel’ S. L. , Bylоus О. Т. , Bylous I. V. 
Published: September 2017

This study aims at an analytical review of scientific literature on the structure of the tongue of different animals and humans, and also at studying the features of the structure of motor nerve endings in the tongue muscles of healthy rats and rats that have undergone prolonged dehydration. Over 14 days, using histological methods we studied neuromuscular endings and peculiarities of their distribution in the tongue muscles of 25 mature rats, both in normal condition and under dehydration. The analysis of the results showed different structures of differentiated motor nerve endings among the rats in normal condition, and also revealed the peculiarities and quantitative characteristics of the components of the neuromuscular endings in relation to the duration of dehydration. The type of neuromuscular ending reflects the morphologically interdependent structure of efferent neuromediators in relation to a part of the tongue. This may determine the nature of the processes of prehension and chewing of food. The structure of neuromuscular endings of the muscles of the tip of the tongue is the most differentiated, they are more numerous and larger. The tip of the tongue of rats had a higher number of nuclei and larger size of the neuromuscular endings of the muscles than the other parts. This, perhaps, is determined by the speed of the movements of the tongue due to eating different foods. The number of nuclei and the size of neuromuscular endings are characterized by significant variations in the pattern of axon branching, which is determined by the anatomical, physiological and biomechanical conditions of functioning of the rats’ tongue muscles. The quantative analysis of structural peculiarities of axomycin synapses showed that muscle fibers of the tongue have neuroumuscular endings with regulated synaptoarchitectonics which is characterized by the sprouting of the motor axon, a certain length and width of the active zones, number and size of the synaptic folds, number of terminal neurolemmocytes, and the peculiarity in structure of the subsynaptic area. Muscle fibers in the body of the tongue have the most complex special distribution of presynaptic pole of axomuscular synapses, they also have the highest number of active zones and synaptic folds. We determined the main reactive and destructive processes while distinguishing certain phases of morphologically-functional changes in the organism under total dehydration. A complex analysis of the morpho-functional characteristics of the peripheral nervous apparatus of the tongue of rats subject to total dehydration helped reveal the structural rearrangement of the neuromuscular endings over certain periods. During first three days after the beginning of the dehydration modeling, a structural adaptation was manifested in the reorganization of the neuromuscular endings, which is followed by their destructive changes in 6–9 days, and a phase of exhaustion with disorders in the fine architectonics of neuromuscular endings after 14 days. The article discusses the peculiarities of the efferent part of the motor unit of the tongue of rats subject to prolonged dehydration.