A Specific Midventral Gland in Gerbils

Abstract

MAMMALIAN skin is rich in specific glands which perform various functions. Dambach¹ found a specific midventral gland in Meriones unguiculatus and gave a histological description of it. Other references exist in which attention is directed to the presence of such a gland in Rhombomys opimus²; however, its structure was not studied. The presence of similar glands in other gerbil species also remained uncertain, and thus we endeavoured to bridge this gap. Unfortunately, these glands cannot be distinguished in dry (museum) preparations, so that either living or alcohol and formalin-fixed animals were required. (Part of the material was placed at our disposal by the Zoological Museums of the Zoological Institute of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and of the University of Moscow, and by Mr. V. S. Lobachev (University of Moscow), whom we thank.)