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The Structure of the Harderian Gland of the Golden Hamster

  • Chapter
Harderian Glands

Abstract

Hamsters are a group of cricetid rodents numbering some 23 species and with a widespread distribution in eastern Europe and Asia. The golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus Waterhouse) is a common laboratory species, although its distribution in the wild is difficult to assess. First described in 1833, it is not recorded again until 1930, when a nest of pups found in the desert near Aleppo, Syria was acquired by Professor Aharoni of the Zoology Department of the Hebrew University at Jerusalem; two females and a male from this litter are said to have given rise to all the present captive hamsters (Fulton 1968). Expeditions to the Middle East have not been successful in establishing the present status of the golden hamster (Murphy 1971), although the closely related Mesocricetus brandtii (considered by some to be the same species, e.g., Corbet and Hill 1986) has been trapped in Turkey.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Glasgow University, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK

    A. P. Payne, J. McGadey & H. S. Johnston

Authors
  1. A. P. Payne
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  2. J. McGadey
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  3. H. S. Johnston
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Endocrinology, Hospital de Sant Pau Autonomous University, Padre Claret 167, 08025, Barcelona, Spain

    Susan M. Webb

  2. Dept. of Biology, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, 13346, USA

    Roger A. Hoffman

  3. Dept. of Endocrinology, Hospital Santa Creu de Sant Pau University Autonoma de Barcelona, 08025, Barcelona, Spain

    Manuel L. Puig-Domingo

  4. Dept. of Cellular & Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, 78284, USA

    Russel J. Reiter

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© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Payne, A.P., McGadey, J., Johnston, H.S. (1992). The Structure of the Harderian Gland of the Golden Hamster. In: Webb, S.M., Hoffman, R.A., Puig-Domingo, M.L., Reiter, R.J. (eds) Harderian Glands. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76685-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76685-5_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-76687-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-76685-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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