Comparative cytoarchitectonic study of Gudden's tegmental nuclei in some mammals.

Abstract

The structure and location of the dorsal and ventral tegmental nuclei of Gudden were studied in brains of 12 species of mammals. The ventral tegmental nucleus of Gudden is composed of oval or polygonal, medium-sized, well-stained cells, and includes the pars principalis situated ventral to the fasciculus longitudinalis medialis, and the pars suprafascicularis in the central gray matter dorsal to the fasciculus longitudinalis medialis (in the golden hamster, mouse, vole, and house shrew). The dorsal tegmental nucleus of Gudden is situated within the central gray matter. This nucleus includes the pars ventralis, composed of oval or triangular cells, medium-sized but smaller than those of the ventral tegmental nucleus of Gudden, and the pars dorsalis, composed of round, small, and lightly stained cells, and often encapsulated by fibers of the fasciculus longitudinalis dorsalis. The isthmus between the dorsal and ventral tegmental nuclei of Gudden is distinct. In the cat, dog, rat, gerbil, and rabbit, the isthmus stands at the dorsal edge of the fasciculus longitudinalis medialis; in the golden hamster, mouse, vole, and house shrew, within the central gray matter; and in the guinea pig, at the ventral edge of the fasciculus longitudinalis medialis. In the green monkey and man, we could not find a ventral tegmental nucleus of Gudden, and in the house shrew and man, the pars ventralis and pars dorsalis of the dorsal tegmental nucleus of Gudden could not be separated.