The vomeronasal organ of the male ferret

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is known to play a major role in sexual behavior in many mammals. This study is the first report that the adult male ferret has a VNO, which is considerably smaller and morphologically different from the usually crescent-shaped epithelium in several mammalian species, par...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical senses 1999-04, Vol.24 (2), p.127-136
Main Authors: WEILER, E, APFELBACH, R, FARBMAN, A. I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Animals
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Bromodeoxyuridine - metabolism
Epithelium - anatomy & histology
Epithelium - physiology
Ferrets - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Immunohistochemistry
Male
Nerve Tissue Proteins - analysis
Olfactory Marker Protein
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Seasons
Testosterone - blood
Vomeronasal Organ - anatomy & histology
Vomeronasal Organ - physiology
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Summary:The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is known to play a major role in sexual behavior in many mammals. This study is the first report that the adult male ferret has a VNO, which is considerably smaller and morphologically different from the usually crescent-shaped epithelium in several mammalian species, particularly rodents. There were no differences in the size or structure of the ferret VNO between the mating season in spring and the sexually quiescent season in autumn, although plasma testosterone, testis size and brain size are dramatically increased in spring and behavior changes significantly. The histological data suggest that the VNO might be not as important a structure in male ferret sexual behavior as in rodents.
ISSN:0379-864X
1464-3553
1464-3553
DOI:10.1093/chemse/24.2.127