the morphological study of the soft palate in one humped camel (camelus dromedarius)

during rutting period, the male one humped camels, extrudes a balloon like organ from one side of the mouth. twelve heads of the slaughtered one humped camels from different sexes were examined. air was blown through natural openings: mouth, nares, esophagus and trachea. cross and longitudinal sections were made in frozen and formalin fixed specimens. it was concluded that soft palate in one humped camesl have two almost equal cavities with two small openings. their ventral parts situated against the dorsum of the tongue. the dimensions and volumes of diverticula were measured in normal and distended ones. different coloured resins were injected through openings of the cavities, and no communications observed between these diverticula. in rutting period, camels, by contraction of muscles of the soft palate, pushes it upward and thus prevent access expiratory to the posterior nares. consequently, air passing toward the oral cavity, enters into the diverticula of the soft palate. since these cavities are more developed in males than in femais, they extrud only in males from the side of their mouth.