Abstract: | Mucosubstances in the tracheobronchial tree of the ferret were studied histochemically. The submucous glands contained predominantly neutral mucins. Scattered between these were cells containing sulphated mucins and sialidase-labile and sialidase-resistant sialomucins. Most of the goblet cells in the trachea, as well as those in the bronchi and larger bronchioles, contained sulphated mucins. A smaller proportion of the goblet cells showed sialidase-labile and sialidase-resistant sialomucins. It will be interesting to see whether ferrets can be used to produce animal models for hypersecretory diseases such as cystic fibrosis and chronic bronchitis. |