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We examined histologically the prepuces from 10 species of Artiodactyla for the presence of preputial glands. The species investigated included the fallow deer (Dama dama), sika deer (Cervus nippon), axis deer (Axis axis), hog deer (A. porcinus), muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak), Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), and blackbuck antelope (Antilope cervicapra). With minor variations, the preputial glands were similar. They consisted of modified sebaceous glands that surrounded the hair roots at the opening of the preputial canal or just inside the canal. No sweat glands were associated with the preputial glands except in the fallow deer, which had a thick, heavily keratinized epithelium. All species demonstrated non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium within the preputial canal. This canal contained deep dermal pegs containing complex vascular channels around which many plasma cells could be seen. Key words: Artiodactyla, Bovidae, Cervidae, deer, chemical signals, preputial, scent glands, sebaceous glands

Preputial glands in white-tailed deer consist of greatly enlarged sebaceous glands associated with a hair follicle. Sweat glands were not observed in the inner lining of the prepuce. No variations in the activity of these sebaceous glands was observed in response to season of the year or reproductive state of the animal. The morphology of the preputial gland in whitetails and other ungulates is compared.