Morphology of the lumbosacral plexus of the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)

Abstract

Popularly known as the ocelot, Leopardus pardalis occurs throughout Brazil in all ecosystems, but prefers riparian regions and forests. The objective of this study was to learn more about the macroscopic, anatomical aspects of the plexus lumbossacral of this species. Three specimens were studied, two males and one female, from the region near the Bauxite Mine in Paragominas, PA. The specimens were donated to the Laboratório de Pesquisa Morfológica Animal (LaPMA) at UFRA after being run over (authorization numbers 485/2009 and 522/2009). The animals were fixed in an aqueous solution of 10% formaldehyde and then the hind limb was dissected by removing some muscles to expose the nerves. In two animals, the femoral nerve originated in the fourth lumbar nerve (L4) and transformed into the saphenous nerve. The obturator nerve and sciatic nerve originated in the last lumbar nerve (L5), and the latter was divided into branches that formed the tibial and common peroneal nerves, which dorsally formed the cranial gluteal and caudal gluteal nerves.

Keywords

• Leopardus pardalis
• Lombussacral plexus
• Morphology
• Nerves