Research progress on musk secretion mechanism of forest musk deer

Forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii), a rare wild medicinal animal, is listed under the category of the state key protected wildlife list of China. Musk, secreted by the musk glands, is with high economic and medicinal value and used as precious traditional medicine in China. In order to meet the needs of musk in Chinese traditional medicine, forest musk deer farming was conducted in 1950s, but the research progress on musk secretion mechanism was slow. Therefore, by reviewing the histological and anatomical structure of forest musk deer musk gland, the relationship between sex hormones and the musk secretion process, and the molecular mechanism of the musk secretion, the existing problems in investigating the musk secretion mechanism were analyzed and the development trends in this field were also discussed, in order to provide a reference for further studies on the musk secretion mechanism and improve musk production of forest musk deer.