Macroscopic organization of the cerebellum of the African giant pouched rat

• Published in: Veterinarski arhiv Vol. 83; no. 6; p. 695
• Main Authors: Byanet, Obadiah, Samuel, Ojo A, Barth, Onyeanusi I, Jonathan, Nok A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sveuciliste U Zagrebu 01-11-2013
• Subjects: Brain research; Cerebellum; Neurophysiology; Physiological aspects; Nigeria
• ISSN: 0372-5480

The degree of folding or foliation and its functional implication is one of the major difference in the cerebellar cortex of rodents. The enlargement/reduction of individual lobules is thought to account for their specific behavioural differences. The macroscopic anatomy of the cerebellum in ten mature African Giant pouched rats (AGPR) is detailed here for the first time. The results showed that the division of the cerebellum in this species followed the same general pattern of having three lobes (anterior, posterior and flocculonodular) lobes. Also on the ventral aspect, three cerebellar peduncles that connected the cerebellum to the brain stem were observed. The lobule VI and its principal lateral continuation corresponds to the lobulus simplex. The lateral extension of lobule VII corresponds to the well developed lobulus ansiformis, consisting of Crus I (crus rostrale), Crus II (crus caudale) and the anterior part of the lobulus paramedianus. The largest lobule in the anterior lobe is lobule V and it is subfoliated into Va, Vb, Vc and Vd by small fissures, while the smallest lobule is lobule I, which is not sublobulated. As for the posterior lobe, lobules VI and IX are the broadest and are sublobulated into five and three sublobules, respectively. Lobule X is subfoliated into two lobules, Xa and Xb, and it was observed to be the smallest of the posterior lobes. The primary fissure was the deepest and most prominent fissure, followed by the precuminate fissure, while the precentral fissure was the smallest. In conclusion, the well-developed ansiform lobe of Crus I and Crus II in AGPRs may help in the excellent climbing strategies and the manipulative use of the forelimbs in grasping objects. Key words: African giant rat, cerebellum, gross anatomy_ lobes and lobules Stupanj vijuganja i njegova funkcionalna svrhovitost cine glavnu razliku u gradi maloga mozga glodavaca. Pretpostavlja se da rast ili smanjenje pojedinacnih reznjeva pridonosi specificnim razlikama u ponasanju. U radu je prviput iscrpnije opisana makroskopska anatomija malog mozga u 10 odraslih africkih divovskih stakora kesicara. Rezultati su pokazali da podjela malog mozga kod te vrste slijedi uobicajeni oblik koji podrazumijeva postojanje 3 reznja (prednjeg, straznjeg i flokulonodularnog). Takoder, u donjem dijelu opazene su tri mozdana stabla (pedunkuli) koja povezuju mali mozak i veliki mozak. VI. rezanj i njegov glavni postrani nastavak odgovaraju reznjicu lobulus simplex. Postrano prosirenje VII. reznja odgovara dobro razvijenom lobulus ensiformis, koji se sastoji od crus I (crus rostrale), crus II (crus caudale) i prednjeg dijela lobulus paramedianus. Najveci dio prednjeg reznja cini reznjic V. koji je malom usjeklinom razgranat na Va, Vb, Vc i Vd. Najmanji je I. reznjic koji nije podijeljen na manje dijelove. U straznjem reznju najprostraniji su reznjici: VI. podijeljen na 5 podreznjica i IX. koji je podijejen na 3 podreznjica. Reznjic X. je podijeljen u dva dijela, Xa i Xb, a najmanji je u straznjem dijelu. Primarna usjeklina bila je najdublja i najizrazenija, a nakon nje slijedi usjeklina, a zatim najmanja presredisnja. U zakljucku, dobro razvijen ensiformni rezanj crus I i crus II kod africkoga divovskog stakora kesicara omogucuje izvrsne penjacke sposobnosti i vjestu uporabu prednjih nogu pri hvatanju objekata. Kljucne rijeci: africki divovski stakor kesicar, mali mozak, makroanatomija, reznjevi, reznjici