The porcupine is a member of Hystricidae family, a li�le group of rodentia (Weichert, 1970;Kuru, 1987;Demirsoy, 1992). The brachial plexus has been studied in variety of mammals including dog (Miller et al., 1964;Tipirdamaz and Erden, 1988;Dursun et al., 1994), cat (McClure et al., 1973;Ge�y, 1975), Wervet monkey (Booth, 1991), Chacma baboon (Booth et al., 1997), rabbit (Aslan, 1994Yilmaz et al., 1995), mouse (Cook, 1965;Bogusch, 1987) and rat (Green, 1968;Chiasson, 1980;Bertelli et al., 1992). To the author's knowledge this is the first study on the brachial plexus of porcupines (Hystrix cristata). The purpose of this study was to document the spinal nerves that constitute the brachial plexus of the porcupines (Hystrix cristata).
MATERIAL AND METHODSFour porcupines (two males and two females) hunted by hunters were used. To document the spinal nerves forming the brachial plexus, skin and muscles were carefully dissected. The brachial plexus in both forelimbs were examined and pictured.For the terminology, the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (1994) was used.
RESULTSThe brachial plexus of porcupines was constituted by ventral rami of C5, C6, C7, C8, T1 and T2. The ventral rami of C5 and T2 were divided into two branches. The contribution of caudal branch of ramus ventralis of C5 and the cranial branch of ramus ventralis of T2 was observed. The cranial branch of ramus ventralis of C5 and the ramus ventralis of C6 formed the cranial trunk and cranial branch of T2 and rami ventralis of C7, C8 ve T1 formed the caudal trunk which is the largest. A branch originated from cranial trunk was bound to the cranial part of caudal trunk (Figures 1 and 2).Long thoracic nerve: Before joining to the brachial plexus, the ventral branches of C6 and C7, as each of C6 and C7 divided into two thin branches, passed beneath the m. scalenaus dorsalis and at the first rib they turn to the cauda and dispersed into serratus ventralis thoracic muscle.
Brachial plexus of the porcupine (Hystrix cristata)A. A���� Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Firat University, Turkey ABSTRACT: In this study, the brachial plexus of the porcupine (Hystrix cristata) was investigated. Four porcupines (two males and two females) were used and the brachial plexus of them were dissected. It was found that the brachial plexus of the porcupine was formed by rami ventralis of C5, C6, C7, C8, T1 and T2. The rami ventralis of C5 and T2 were divided into two branches. The caudal branch of C5 and cranial branch of T2 contributed to the brachial plexus. The caudal branch of C5 and C6 constituted the cranial trunk and the caudal trunk was formed by a branch which came from cranial trunk, rami ventralis of C7, C8, T1 and the cranial branch of ventral ramus of T2. Contribution of C5 and T2 to the formation of the brachial plexus and division of the brachial plexus to the caudal and cranial trunks differ the brachial plexus of this species from those of rat, mouse and mammals.Keywords: spinal nerves; Hystrix cristata; brachial plexus; porcupines List of abb...