COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY OF THE PECTINATE LIGAMENTS OF DOMESTIC MAMMALS, AS OBSERVED UNDER THE DISSECTING MICROSCOPE AND THE SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPE

The pectinate ligaments of ten horses, two donkeys, five oxen, five sh eep, ten goats, five dogs, five cats, thirty pigs and two rabbits were studied under the stereomicroscope and the scanning electron microsco pe. In the horse and the donkey, the pectinate ligament was very promi nent and was characterized by sturdy interconnected strands and relati vely small intertrabecular spaces. The pectinate ligaments of ruminant s were composed of shorter strands, separated by relatively larger spa ces. Fusion between adjacent strands, resulting in the formation of fe nestrated sheets, was regularly observed in these species, in particul ar in the superior and inferior ocular segments. In the dog and the ca t, the pectinate ligament consisted of slender strands that were separ ated by large intertrabecular spaces. The strands of the pectinate lig aments of the pig and the rabbit were shorter and their diameters were intermediate between those of the herbivores and the carnivores. The clinical relevance of the normal variability in the structure of the p ectinate ligament and proposals for a uniform anatomical nomenclature are discussed.