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Brain Snake
Brain Snake
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MATERIALS
AND
METHODS
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Abbreviation
AOB
bas tel
cd tel
cereb
dvr
hyp
lt tel
med
med cortex
MOB
nc
opc
opt
sc
tect
tel
VNO
vt tel
Structure
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garter snake 6076 showing two views progressing from the left to right side of the brain. The
length of the brain is about 8 mm from the medulla to the main olfactory bulb, which is visible
in Figure 3A. The cervical portion of the spinal
cord is seen entering the brain in Figure 3B.
The main and accessory olfactory bulbs, telencephalon, tectum, cerebellum, medulla, and hypothalamus are visible. We also took axial slices
of snakes proceeding from the rear of the brain
to the snout, but these are not pictured here.
These slices depicted many structures including
the ventricles, anterior commissure, nucleus
sphericus, optic tract, medial and dorsal cortex,
ventromedial hypothalamus, caudal and rostal
accessory olfactory bulb and tract, main olfactory bulb, and vomeronasal organ.
Figure 4 provides a high resolution, sagittal
view of a smaller snake, 1686H. The main olfactory bulb and the vomeronasal organ are evident along with the nasal cavity, tectum, cortex,
dorsoventricular ridge, basal telencephalon, hypothalamus, and medula.
Fig. 2. A multislice dorsal image of garter snake 6077. Structure labels in Table 1.
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Fig. 3. Two sagittal views of garter snake 6076. Structure labels in Table 1.
DISCUSSION
These initial studies demonstrate the potential
use of high-field MRI methodology for the noninvasive study of snake anatomy. This technique
provided identifiable images of the vomeronasal
organ, accessory and main olfactory bulbs and
tracts, eyes, optic nerves, cortex, tectum, spinal
cord, and other structures. Although the resolution of detail is far from that obtained with large
brains in larger animals such as mammals, technological advances will certainly make application of these methods in small living animals
much easier and more advanced. Being able to
see minute internal structures (not only of the
brain) is remarkable compared to method available less than a decade ago.
Fig. 4. A higher resolution sagittal view of the olfactory bulb and the vomeronasal organ in garter
snake 1686H. Structure labels in Table 1.
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