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Updated: May 15, 2026

The Bovine Lung in Biomedical Research: Visually Guided Bronchoscopy, Intrabronchial Inoculation and In Vivo Sampling Techniques
Published on: July 3, 2014
Development of respiratory tract from bovine embryos
Miryan Lança Vilia Alberto1, Alvaro Carlos Galdos-Riveros, Alicia Greyce Turatti Pessolato
1Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, Section of Domestic and Wild Animals Anatomy, Av Prof Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, São Paulo, SP 05508-270, Brazil.
Abstract:
We studied the development of respiratory tract in bovine embryos by light microscopy and transmission electronic microscopy. This process was observed formation of laryngeal-tracheal tube in embryos that present crown-rump (CR) length of 9.0 mm (20/21 days of pregnancy) at around the fourth gestational week; the organ wall appears to be formed of epithelium comprising several cell layers and supported by mesenchyme. Within the lungs, the areas subjacent to epithelium present condensed mesenchyme, while more distal areas loose mesenchyme, in which blood vessels beginn to form, as the organ is in a pseudo-glandular phase. Ultra-structurally, the mesenchyme cells present irregular shapes, having a stellar or fusiform appearance and are united by desmosomes, where the cytoskeleton attaches to the cellular membrane, forming a connection. The bifurcation of trachea caudal portion in the main bronchia is simultaneous to the appearance of the tracheal bronchi, during the fifth gestational week.
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