The brain of the tree pangolin (Manis tricuspis). X. The spinal cord.

J Comp Neurol

School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Published: October 2022

AI Article Synopsis

  • The tree pangolin has a notably short spinal cord, measuring about 13 cm, which ends at the midthoracic level.
  • Researchers identified six distinct regions within this short spinal cord, with particular swellings found in the brachial and crural regions.
  • Despite its shorter length, the anatomical organization of the tree pangolin’s spinal cord resembles that of other mammals, suggesting that its functional capabilities may align with those observed in other species.

Article Abstract

The spinal cord of the tree pangolin is known to be very short compared to the overall length of the body and tail. Here, we provide a description of the tree pangolin spinal cord to determine whether the short length contributes to specific structural, and potentially functional, differences. The short spinal cord of the adult tree pangolin, at around 13 cm, terminates at the midthoracic level. Within this shortened spinal cord, we could identify six regions, which from rostral to caudal include the prebrachial, brachial, interramal, crural, postcrural, and caudal regions, with both the brachial and crural regions showing distinct swellings. The chemoarchitecture of coronal sections through these regions confirmed regional assignation, being most readily delineated by the presence of cholinergic neurons forming the intermediolateral column in the interramal region and the sacral parasympathetic nucleus in the postcrural region. The 10 laminae of Rexed were observed throughout the spinal cord and presented with an anatomical organization similar to that observed in other mammals. Despite the shortened length of the tree pangolin spinal cord, the regional and laminar anatomical organization is very similar to that observed in other mammals. This indicates that the functional aspects of the short tree pangolin spinal cord can be inferred from what is known in other mammals.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9540424PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cne.25350DOI Listing

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