Anatomy of the brachial plexus in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus Milne-Edwards, 1867)

Abstract

The Mongolian squirrel is a murine rodent widely used as an experimental model and kept as a pet. With respect to the significance of the brachial plexus, we aimed to describe the origin and the nerves that constitute it, providing new information about the neuroanatomy of this species. Twenty adult animals were used, which were fixed in a 10% formaldehyde solution at the Applied Animal Morphophysiology Laboratory of the Brazilian Federal University of the Semi-Arid Region (UFERSA). The animals were medially incised with an opening of the thoracic cavity, and then bilateral dissection was carried out. Once the nerves were identified, cotton wool soaked with a 2% hydrogen peroxide solution was added for bleaching and better visualisation of structures. The gerbil brachial plexus derived from ventral roots of the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical nerves (C4-C8) and the first thoracic root (T1). The suprascapular nerve was formed from the nerve roots C4 and C5; the subscapular and cranial pectoral nerves from C5 and C6; the musculocutaneous and axillary nerves from C5, C6 and C7; and the caudal pectoral, radial, median, ulnar, thoracodorsal, lateral thoracic and long thoracic nerves from C7, C8 and T1. This resembles what is described in other rodents, such as the rat and capybara. The gerbil has a pre-fixed plexus conformation.

Keywords

• neuroanatomy
• innervation
• thoracic limb
• expimental model
• murine