EN
Studies were conducted on 77 tongues, collected from rabbits being at day 15, 18, 20, 22 and 26 of prenatal life and from rabbits at day 1, 15 and 30 and in the 6th month of postnatal life. Tissues for analyses, collected from the lateral surfaces of the body of the tongue of rabbits, were studied under a light microscope (LM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The thickness of the epithelium in successive periods of pre- and postnatal life was analyzed morphometrically. As a result of the conducted studies it was shown that the epithelium covering the lateral surfaces of the tongue changes in the course of pre- and postnatal development from an epithelium consisting from 1-2 layers of cells into a nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium. The thickness of the epithelium increases in successive analyzed periods of life in rabbits. A rapid growth rate was found for the epithelium in the period from day 26 p.c. The lamina propria mucosae is observed in histological slides starting from day 22 p.c. In the same period the presence of elastic fibers was shown. Glycogen was found in the cytoplasm of the epithelial and mesenchymal cells from day 15 to 20 p.c.