Abstract
The camel lives in hot desert and eats thorny plants. It is exposed to severe environmental conditions such as dust, high temperature and thorny plants. These sensations from the face area may affect the development of neurons in the camel’s spinal trigeminal nucleus which contain the second‐order neurons of the sensory pathways for pain and temperature from the face area. Neurons in the spinal trigeminal nucleus of the camel were studied by Golgi impregnation.AimsThe aims of this study were to describe the different types of neurons in the spinal trigeminal nucleus and to compare these neurons with their counterparts in other species.MethodBlocks (2–4mm thick) of camel brainstem preserved in 10% formalin for months were cut and processed by two variations of Golgi Kopschi method (Fox and Braintenberg staining methods). Transverse sections (100 μm thick) were cut and examined under the light microscope. Well‐impregnated neurons were studied, measured and photographed.ResultsNeurons were classified based on differences in size and shape of their cell bodies, density of their dendritic trees, morphology and distribution of their appendages.In the spinal trigeminal nucleus of the camel, at least twelve types of neurons were identified. These neurons include, stalk, islets, octubus‐like, lobulated, boat‐like, pyramidal, multipolar, round, oval and elongated neurons. They have large number of different forms of appendages not only for their dendrites but also for their cell bodies. Neurons with unique large dilatations especially at their dendritic branching points were found. These neuronal types were found in the three divisions of the spinal trigeminal nucleus namely the spinal trigeminal caudalis, spinal trigeminal interpolaris and spinal trigeminal oralis. The morphological features of these neurons were described and compared with their counterparts in other species.ConclusionFinding of neurons with variation in number and shape, in addition, to variation in number and shape of the appendages on the cell bodies and dendrites may indicate the presence of a very complex information processing for pain and temperature at the level of the spinal trigeminal nucleus in the camel. Together with the presence of cells with unique features such as large dilated parts for dendrites, may suggest that, the spinal trigeminal nucleus in the camel serves as center for sensations processing and not only as relay nucleus for the pain and temperature pathways from the face. This study will improve our understanding of the function of the spinal trigeminal nucleus and contribute to our understanding of comparative neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.Support or Funding InformationResearch Grant 100/2011 from the Deanship of Scientific Research at Jordan University of Science and Technology
Published Version
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