Structural organization of the pontine nuclei in human fetus 39-40 weeks of intrauterine development

Abstract

Annotation. The study of the embryonic development of the human brain is important for understanding the early mechanisms of CNS development and assessing the influence of intrauterine factors on the formation of brain structures. Basic knowledge about the development of the fetal pons is important for any prenatal assessment in cases of suspected abnormalities of brain development. The aim of our study is to define the macrometric parameters of the human fetal pons at the stage of 39-40 weeks of fetal development, the size and area of the cranial nerve nuclei, which are located in the pons, as well as a morphometric study of neurons of the nuclei of cranial nerves. Anatomical and histological research was carried out on 5 human fetuses with a gestation period of 39-40 weeks. The material for the study was obtained from the Vinnytsia Regional Pathology Bureau, stillborns who died from causes not related to diseases of the central nervous system. Brain preparations were fixed with 10% neutral formalin solution. Digital data were statistically processed on a personal computer using Microsoft Excel 2016 and the software “Statistica 6.1” (license number BXXR901E246122FA). Computer histometry (Toup View) was used during the morphometric study. We found that in human fetuses at 39-40 weeks of gestation, the principal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve had the largest area. The dorsal cochlear nucleus of the vestibulocochlear nerve had the smallest area. The largest area of neurons was in the nucleus of the facial nerve. The largest diameter and area of cell nuclei has the principal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve, while the diameter and area of cells of nuclei of the facial, abductor and vestibulocochlear nerves have almost the same size.