ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Clinical, Anatomical, and Comparative Pathology
The Porcine Carotid Body: Morphological and Lectin Histochemical Characterization
Provisionally accepted
Semzenisi Ecaterina1
Andrei Ungur2*
Mihai Cristian Feher3Alexia Teodora Hoța3
Dragoș Hodor3
Romelia Pop3
Tabaran Alexandru Flaviu3- 1Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj Napoca, Romania
- 2Department of Porcine Health Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj Napoca, Romania
- 3Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj Napoca, Romania
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Although the carotid body (CB) has been widely examined in many animal species, its histological features in pigs have received comparatively little attention. This research presents the first integrative description of the porcine (CB), combining anatomical dissection, histological evaluation (H&E and Masson's trichrome), immunohistochemistry, and lectin histochemistry. In the study, 4 piglets were examined from which the carotid glomus was harvested, and it was described histologically. The organ displayed a multilobular structure embedded in connective tissue. Immunohistochemical labeling with GFAP, S100, and NSE demonstrated strong and consistent immunoreactivity, confirming the presence of neuroendocrine and glial-like cell populations. Complementary lectin histochemistry with Con-A and WGA revealed distinct glycosylation patterns that correlate with the presence of growth factor receptors (TrkA, TrkB, TrkC, p75NTR, and others), thereby offering insight into receptor biology and glycan-mediated signaling within the (CB).
Keywords: Carotid Body, pig, neuroendocrine, gdnf, IHC, GFAP, S-100, NSE
Received: 10 Oct 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ecaterina, Ungur, Feher, Hoța, Hodor, Pop and Flaviu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Andrei Ungur
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