Abstract
We examined the morphology of chin and lip facial projections of seven species of Phyllostomid and Noctilionid bats utilizing scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy of immunohistochemical and stained paraffin-embedded sections. Results showed that lip and chin facial projections were composed of glabrous skin except for some chin projections of Noctilio leporinus that were composed of haired skin. All projections contained a rich and diffuse concentration of nerves that were associated with dermal papillae and epidermal rete pegs that contained Merkel cell–neurite units and a diffuse network of epidermal free nerve endings. The existence of physically extended anatomical structures that contain a variety of receptor sensory units and their associated modalities must be important to be present throughout this diverse group of bats. These facial projections include a unique neural arrangement, but their specific functions remain unknown.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alvarez FJ, Cervantes C, Villalba R, Blasco I, Martinez-Murillo R et al (1988) Immunocytochemical analysis of calcitonin gene-related peptide and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in Merkel cells and cutaneous nerve endings in cats. Cell Tissue Res 254:429–437
Bancroft JD, Stevens AS (1977) Theory and practice of histological techniques. Churchill Livingstone, New York, NY
Bessou P, Perl ER (1969) Response of cutaneous sensory units with unmyelinated fibers to noxious stimuli. J Neurophysiol 32:1025–1043
Catana KC (1995) Structure and innervation of the sensory organs on the snout of the star-nosed mole. J Comp Neurol 351:536–548
Cheng Chew SB, Leung PY (1991) Immunocytochemical evidence of a met-enkephalin-like substance in the dense core granules of mouse Merkel cells. Cell Tissue Res 265:611–614
Cheng Chew SB, Leung PY (1992) Methionine-enkephalin immunoreactivity in Merkel cell dense-core granules of nude mice sinus hair. A post-embedding immunogold electron-microscopic study. In Vivo 6:195–198
Cheng Chew SB, Leung PY (1993) CGRP-immunoreactivity in Merkel cells and non-myelinated nerve plexuses of dog skin. Neuroreport 4:457–459
Dalquest WW, Werner HJ (1954) Histological aspects of the faces of North American bats. J Mammal 35:147–160
Delmas P, Hao J, Rodat-Despoix L (2011) Molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction in mammalian sensory neurons. Nat Rev Neurosci 12:139–153
Elliot DG (1905) Descriptions of apparently new species and subspecies of mammals for Mexico and San Domingo. Proc Biol Soc Wash 18:233–236
Fawcett DW (1994) A textbook of histology, 12th edn. Chapman and Hall, New York, NY
Garcia-Caballero T, Gallego R, Roson E, Fraga M, Beiras A (1989) Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity in the neuroendocrine Merkel cells and nerve fibers of pig and human skin. Histochemistry 92:127–132
Gu J, Polak JM, Tapia FJ, Marangos PJ, Pearse AEG (1981) Neuron-specific enolase in the Merkel cells of mammalian skin. The use of specific antibody as a simple and reliable histologic marker. Am J Pathol 104:63–68
Halata Z, Munger BL (1980a) Sensory nerve endings in Rhesus monkey sinus hairs. J Comp Neurol 192:645–663
Halata Z, Munger BL (1980b) The sensory innervation of primate eyelid. Anat Rec 198:657–670
Halata Z, Munger BL (1983) The sensory innervation of primate facial skin. II. Vermilion border and mucosa of lip. Brain Res Rev 5:81–107
Harrison BA, Davies DV (1949) A note on epithelial structures in Microchiroptera. Proc Zool Soc Lond 119:351–357
Hartschuh W, Weihe E, Buchler M, Helmstaedter V, Feurle GE et al (1979) Met-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity in Merkel cells. Cell Tissue Res 201:343–348
Hartschuh W, Weihe E, Yanaihara N, Reinecke M (1983) Immunohistochemical localization of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in Merkel cells of various mammals: evidence for a neuromodulator function of Merkel cells. J Invest Dermatol 81:361–364
Hitchcock IS, Genever PJ, Cahusac PMB (2004) Essential components for a glutamatergic synapse between Merkel cell and nerve terminals in rats. Neurosci Lett 362:196–199
Iggo A, Andres KH (1982) Morphology of cutaneous receptors. Annu Rev Neurosci 5:1–31
Iggo A, Muir AR (1969) The structure and function of a slowly adapting touch corpuscle in hairy skin. J Physiol 200:763–796
Kürten L, Schmidt U (1981) Thermoperception in the common vampire bat (Desmodusrotundus). J Comp Physiol 146:223–228
Lacour JP, Dubois D, Pisani A, Ortonne JP (1991) Anatomical mapping of Merkel cells in normal human epidermis. Br J Dermatol 125:535–542
Loken LS, Wessberg J, Morrison I, McGlone F, Olausson H (2009) Coding of pleasant touch by unmyelinated afferents in humans. Nat Neurosci 12:547–548
Lucarz A, Brand G (2007) Current considerations about Merkel cells. Eur J Cell Biol 86:243–251
Luna LG (1960) Manual of histological staining methods of the armed forces institute of pathology, 3rd edn. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, NY
Maricich SM, Wellnitz SA, Nelson AM, Lesniak DR, Gerling GJ et al (2009) Merkel cells are essential for light touch responses. Science 324:1580–1582
Merkel F (1875) Tastzellen und tastkörperchen bei den Haustieren und beim menschen. Archiv Mikrosk Anat 11:636–652
Moll I, Kuhn C, Moll R (1995) Cytokeratin 20 is a general marker of cutaneous Merkel cells while certain neuronal proteins are absent. J Invest Dermatol 104:910–915
Montagna W, Roman NA, MacPherson E (1975) Comparative study of the innervation of the facial disc of selected mammals. J Invest Dermatol 65:458–465
Munger BL, Halata Z (1983) The sensorineural apparatus of the human eyelid. Am J Anat 170:181–204
Munger BL, Halata Z (1984) The sensory innervation of primate facial skin. I. Hairy skin. Brain Res Rev 5:45–80
Naish SJ (1989) Immunohistochemical staining methods handbook, 2nd edn. DAKO Corporation, Carpinteria, CA
Narisawa Y, Hashimoto K, Kohda H (1994) Immunohistochemical demonstration of the expression of neurofilament proteins in Merkel cells. Acta Derm Venereol 74:441–443
Oaklander AL, Siegel SM (2005) Cutaneous innervation: form and function. Am Acad Dermatol 53:1027–1037
Perl ER (1996) Cutaneous polymodal receptors: characteristics and plasticity. Prog Brain Res 113:21–27
Phillips CJ (1985) Field fixation and storage of museum tissue collections suitable for electron microscopy. Acta Zool Fennica 170:87–90
Presnell JK, Schreibman MP (1997) Humason’s animal tissue techniques, 5th edn. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD
Pye JD (1986) Noseleaves and bat pulses. In: Nachtigall PE, Moore PWB (eds) Animal sonar, processes and performance. Plenum Press, New York, NY
Quay WB (1970) Integument and derivatives. In: Wimsatt WA (ed) Biology of bats, vol II. Academic, New York, NY
Sasou S, Sugai T (1992) Periarterial lymphoid sheath in the rat spleen: a light, transmission, and scanning electron microscopic study. Anat Rec 232:15–24
Satthaporn S, Eremin O (2001) Dendritic cells (I): biological functions. J R Coll Surg Edinb 46:9–20
Sauret JH, Didierjean L (1984) The epidermal Merkel cell is an epithelial cell. Dermatologica 169:117–120
Seal RP, Wang X, Guan Y, Raja SN, Woodbury CJ et al (2009) Injury-induced mechanical hypersensitivity requires C-low threshold mechanoreceptors. Nature 462:651–655
Silva-Toboada G, Pine RH (1969) Morphological and behavioral evidence for the relationship between the bat genus Brachyphylla and the Phyllonycterinae. Biotropica 1:10–19
Simmons NB (2005) Order Chiroptera. In: Wilson DE, Reeder DM (eds) Mammal species of the world, vol 2, 2nd edn. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD
Smoller BR (2002) Practical immunopathology of the skin. Humana Press, New York, NY
Tachibana T, Nawa T (2005) Immunohistochemical reactions of receptors to met-enkephalin, VIP, substance P, and CGRP located on Merkel cells in the rat sinus hair follicle. Arch Histol Cytol 68:383–391
Tazaki M, Sakada S (1989) Merkel cell and Merkel-cell neurite complexes in gingival and alveolar mucosa of newborn kittens. Bull Tokyo Dent Coll 30:21–24
Toyoshima K, Shimamura A (1988) An immunohistochemical demonstration of neuron- specific enolase in the Merkel cells of the frog taste organ. Arch Histol Cytol 51:237–239
Valbo A, Olausson BH, Wessberg J (1999) Unmyelinated afferents constitute a second system coding tactile stimuli of the human hairy skin. J Neurophysiol 81:2753–2763
Weiss A (1990) Sensory innervation in the facial projections of three phyllostomid bats, Phyllostomus hastatus, Trachops cirrhosus, and Artibeus jamaicensis. MA Thesis, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York
Wetterer AL, Rockman MV, Simmons NB (2000) Phylogeny of phyllostomid bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera): data from diverse morphological systems, sex chromosomes, and restriction sites. Bull Am Mus Nat Hist 248:1–200
Wilson DE, Reeder DM (2005) Mammal species of the world, vol 2, 2nd edn. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge and thank Hugh H. Genoways, Roxy J. Larsen, and Scott C. Pedersen for their help in the field collecting and preserving specimens. We thank Giuseppe Bongiorno, Daniel Herr, Paul Homnick, Jason Mannion, Rachel Metzger, Karl Oberg, and Winona Weimann for the technical assistance in the histology lab at The University of Scranton. The University of Scranton provided financial assistance through Faculty and Student Development Grants.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kwiecinski, G.G., German, J.D., Cannon, J.T. (2013). Bat Facial and Lip Projections: Unique Integumentary Morphology. In: Adams, R., Pedersen, S. (eds) Bat Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7397-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7397-8_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7396-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7397-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)