Extrinsic Cardiac Nerve Segments in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris– Linnaeus, 1758). Comparative Study in Young and Adult Dogs

Abstract

In this paper, important connections between the two main contingents of the autonomic nervous system, intrinsic and extrinsic visceral plexus were analysed. Concerning heart innervation, the territories of extrinsic innervation are very important in the treatment of congenital or acquired cardiopathy, thoracic neoplasia and aortic arch persistence, among others. This research compared young and adult extrinsic cardiac innervation and described the surgical anatomic nerve segments. Animals were perfused with a 10% formaldehyde solution in PBS (0.1 m) (pH 7.4) and submitted to macro- and meso-scopic dissection immersed in 60% acetic acid alcoholic solution and 20% hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution. The nerve segments were assigned as: right vagus nerve segment, left vagus nerve segment, right middle cervical ganglion segment, left middle cervical ganglion segment, right caudal laryngeal nerve segment, left caudal laryngeal nerve segment, right phrenic nerve segment and left phrenic nerve segment.

Systematic and comparative morphologies of the extrinsic cardiac nervous system in lemurs (Primates: Strepsirrhini: Infraorder Lemuriformes, Gray, 1821) with evolutionary morphological implications

“…Experimental and developmental studies of the autonomic cardiac nervous system have also been conducted in animals such as the mouse, rat, rabbit, chick, and dog (Armour et al, 1972;Benítez et al, 1959;Brack et al, 2011;Gomez, 1958;Haws and Burgess, 1978;Hildreth et al, 2008Hildreth et al, , 2009Kirby et al, 1980;Kuratani et al, 1991;Kuratani and Tanaka, 1990;Levy et al, 1966;Mabe and Hoover, 2011;Meyer et al, 2010;Mizeres, 1955Mizeres, , 1957Mizeres, , 1958Mizuno et al, 2010;Oliveira et al, 2010;Roberts, 1991;Schwartz, 2010;Scherlag et al, 2011;Shaner, 1930;Shoba and Tay, 2000;Uchida et al, 2010;Verberne et al, 1998). However, huge differences in the cardiac nervous system between humans and the experimental animals have been recognized (Batulevicius et al, 2003;Brugnaro et al, 2003;Kawashima, 2011;McKibben and Getty, 1968;Rysevaite et al, 2011;Pauza et al, 2002a,b). A through understanding of primate morphology is important because the primate ancestor diverged from the ancestor of the rodents, which includes the main experimental animals such as the rat, mouse, and rabbit.…”

Extrinsic Cardiac Nerve Distribution in Goitred Gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa)

“…The cardiac branches of the vagal nerves can be divided into cranial and caudal cardiac rami Getty, 1969a, 1970;Brugnaro et al, 2003). Studies in domestic small ruminants Getty, 1969a, 1970) documented the existence and involvement of the both cranial and caudal cardiac rami in the cardiac plexus.…”

“…Studies have indicated that both the right and left cardiac plexuses receive extrinsic sympathetic nerves in these animals from the cranial and caudal thoracic cardiac nerves Getty, 1968, 1969a;Brugnaro et al, 2003), the stellate ganglion through the ansa subclavia Getty, 1969b, 1970), and the vertebral and middle cervical ganglia (McKibben and Getty, 1970;Brugnaro et al, 2003). These studies indicated that the paravertebral sympathetic thoracic ganglia caudal to the third one served as the origin for the thoracic cardiac nerves.…”

Gross anatomical study of the sympathetic cardiac nerves in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus)

“…In addition, many comparative anatomical studies have been carried out on autonomic cardiac innervation in various vertebrate species, such as the calf (Shaner, 1930), rat (Gómez, 1958;Burkholder et al, 1992;Batulevičius et al, 2004), chick (Kuratani and Tanaka, 1990;Verberne et al, 1998Verberne et al, , 1999, musk shrew (Tanaka et al, 1998), guinea pig (Batulevičius et al, 2005), dog (Randall and Rohse, 1956;Itoh, 1960;Randall et al, 1963Randall et al, , 1968Randall et al, , 1972Randall et al, , 1989Szentivanyi et al, 1967;Randall, 1975, 1985;Norris and Randall, 1977;Rinkema et al, 1982;Armour, 1984, 1989;Brandys et al, 1986;Ardell et al, 1988;Armour, 1988;Gagliardi et al, 1988;Brugnaro et al, 2003), cat (Phillips et al, 1986), and primates (Riegele, 1926;Randall et al, 1971;Billman et al, 1989;Kawashima et al, 2001. Especially, Randall (1975, 1985) contributed to our knowledge of cardiac function using methods such as retrograde tracing and electrophysiology in dogs.…”