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Histochemical demonstration of 5-hydroxytryptamine in poison glands of amphibian skin

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Summary

The aim of this project was to see whether 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) believed to be present in the skin glands of anuran amphibians can be demonstrated histochemically. The Periodic acid-Schiff technique (P.A.S.) and three histochemical methods known to demonstrate 5-HT in enterochromaffin cells (Pontana's, diazonium and Schmorl's) were applied to the dorsal skin of three species—Xenopus laevis, Rana angolensis and Bufo regularis.

Mucous glands were identified by their P.A.S. reactivity in all three species. Poison glands were identifiable in Bufo regularis and Xenopus laevis only. The secretory granules of the latter glands have strong positive reactions with all three histochemical techniques used.

It is concluded that the poison glands of anuran amphibians contain 5-HT demonstrable by histochemical means.

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  1. Department of Anatomy, Medical School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

    Beverley Kramer

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  1. Beverley Kramer
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Kramer, B. Histochemical demonstration of 5-hydroxytryptamine in poison glands of amphibian skin. Histochemie 24, 336–342 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00278219

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00278219

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