Description of the brachial plexus of the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis Sclater, 1882): case report

Abstract

The short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) is one of the rarest species of South American canids. Aiming to describe the morphology of this animal and enhance the study of comparative neuroanatomy, we studied the anatomical makeup of the brachial plexus of a female specimen from Paragominas (PA). The specimen was donated, after natural death, to the Institute of Animal Health and Production (ISPA) at the Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA). The animal was fixed in 10% formalin and later dissected bilaterally to reveal the origin of the brachial plexus. In A. microtis, the brachial plexus is derived from the ventral rami of the last three cervical spinal nerves and the first thoracic spinal nerve (C6-T1). The brachial plexus derivatives with their respective origins were: suprascapular n. (C6 and C7), subscapular n. (C6), musculocutaneous n. (C6 and C7), axillary n. (C6 and C7), radial n. (C7 and C8), median n. (C7, C8 and T1), ulnar n. (C8 and T1), thoracodorsal n. (C8 and T1), cranial pectoral nn. (C7, C8 and T1) and caudal pectoral nn. (C8 and T1). The brachial plexus of A. microtis resembled what has been described for the domestic dog, in relation to the origin of the initial and final segment, but showed differences in the composition of some nerves.

Keywords

• Anatomy
• Atelocynus microtis
• Brachial plexus