New contribution on the oesophageal mucous innervation in certain monkeys (Cercopithecidae)

Spindle-shaped, barrel-like, or bush-like corpuscular neural structures situated in the mucous epithelium of the upper third of the oesophagus are described. These structures are not homogeneously distributed in this area. Some are very close to the pharyngooesophageal sphincter, spanning the thickness of the epithelium and communicating with the basal membrane by means of a thin pedicle and with the lumen by a small hilus or pore, their morphology being that of a taste bud. The others are situated deeper in the mucous epithelium of the upper third, communicating with the basal membrane only by means of either a thin pedicle or a thicker one, and separated from the lumen by a thick layer of epithelial cells. The bush-like apparatuses lie closely adjacent to the basal membrane of the epithelium.