Investigation on the histological structure of skin glands of Salamandra infraimmaculata (Salamandridae, Urodela) and Hyla savignyi (Hylidae, Anura)

In the present study, histomorphological and histochemical characteristics of skin of Salamandra infraimmaculata and Hyla savignyi which live in Anatolia were examined with light microscope. To determine general histological structure of the skin, some sections were stained with routine histological stains (Hematoxylin-Eosin and Mallory's Trichrome). To identify the chemical structure of the secretion of skin glands, Periodic Acid-Schiff ve Alcian blue were used. To demonstrate collagenous fiber bundles in the dermis, Picro-ponceau staining method was used. According to light microscopic observations, dorsal and ventral regions two kind of glands; granular and mucous glands were identified in both species. Granular glands were common in dorsal region of the body. It was found that mucous glands were smaller than the granular ones. Considering section obtained from parotoid region of S. infraimmaculata, containing serous secretion specialized glands in the center of parotoid region were observed. By fluorescence microscopy observations, localization of hyaluronic acid was determined in skin of S. infraimmaculata and H. savignyi. The localization of hyaluronic acid was mainly in stratum spongiosum. Additionally, the percentage of dermal glands was calculated and diameters of granular and mucous glands were measured per animal in both dorsal and ventral regions. The parameters were compared by one-way ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U-test (SPSS 16.0) in terms of statistical differences in the diameters of dermal glands.