Anatomical study of the pancreas in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus), with special reference to the blood supply and innervation

Abstract

To examine the macroscopic structure, blood supply, and innervation of the pancreas in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus), we performed gross anatomical dissection and whole-mount immunostaining of the autonomic nerve of Suncus pancreases based on neurofilament protein (NFP) immunoreactivity. The adult Suncus pancreas is clearly separated into right and left lobes that are not fused. The right lobe of the Suncus pancreas is located in the dorsum of the duodenum and to the right of the common bile duct independently. The right lobe is supplied by branches of the superior mesenteric artery, and is innervated by branches that originate from the superior mesenteric plexus and run along the arterial branches of the superior mesenteric artery. The left lobe occupies 9/10 of the entire pancreas and is located to the left of the common bile duct. It is supplied mainly by branches of the splenic and common hepatic arteries, and is innervated by branches that originate from the celiac plexus and run along the splenic and common hepatic arteries. According to previous studies on the blood supply and innervation of the human pancreas, the right and left lobes of the Suncus pancreas correspond to the pancreatic parts derived from the ventral and dorsal pancreatic buds. The current results suggest that the Suncus pancreas is a suitable experimental model for studying the development of the human pancreas. Anat Rec Part A 273A: 630 -635, 2003.

Lymph node spread of gallbladder cancer from the perspective of embryologically-based anatomy and significance of the lymphatic basin along the embryonic right hepatic artery

“…In the pN1 group, lymph node metastases characteristically arise in the pericholedochal area or the posterosuperior pancreaticoduodenal region, rather than around the hepatic artery (2,3). However, no feeding arteries are present around the pericholedochal lymph nodes and posterosuperior pancreaticoduodenal lymph nodes (PPLNs), although lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels generally exist along a feeding artery (4)(5)(6)(7).…”

Anterior Inferior Pancreaticoduodenal Artery Running Between the Dorsal and Ventral Pancreas: Morphological and Embryological Viewpoint

“…Experimental animal, house musk shrew (Suncus murinus), which are common insectivores, has shown morphological characteristic very similar to those of humans than other species, i.e., mice, rats, and is useful as a model of human physiology and pathophysiology [20,[27][28][29]. According to our previous studies, the pancreases do not fuse as in humans or other species, and the two pancreases are located on the right and left of the common bile duct in Suncus murinus.…”

Induction of differentiation of undifferentiated cells into pancreatic beta cells in vertebrates

“…On the other hand the human pancreas has a characteristic vascular system based on the peripancreatic arter- ies (Okahara et al, 2010), and compartmentalization of its blood supply may also be an obstacle to regeneration. The pancreas is usually formed by fusion of two primordia, which are known as the dorsal and ventral pancreatic buds, but in the Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) the two buds do not merge (Yi et al, 2003). In organ cultures of rat pancreatic primordia, merging of the left and right lobes is not seen either (Spooner et al, 1970).…”

“…In organ cultures of rat pancreatic primordia, merging of the left and right lobes is not seen either (Spooner et al, 1970). Anatomical comparison between the Asian house shrew and humans has shown that even if the two parts of the pancreas merge, the anatomy of the blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves in the portions derived from the right and left primordia are different (Yi et al, 2003). In addition, pancreatic polypeptide (PP) cells are found in the right lobe, but are rare in the left lobe (Gersell et al, 1979).…”