Functional organization of cerebral microvasculature in a marsupial, the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus).
Capillaries within the central nervous system (CNS) of eutherian mammals form meshworks with numerous anastomoses, whereas capillaries in the CNS of marsupials consist entirely of hairpin-like loops, without anastomotic interconnections. Counter-current blood flow in capillary loops may have been important in the evolutionary development of a cerebral vascular supply. However, loops are not found in eutherian mammals, perhaps because of a limited benefit to the diffusive conductance of gases.
Department of Anatomy and Histology, School of Medicine, Flinders University of South Australia, Bedford Park.
G K
GK
Snyder
B
B
Gannon
R V
RV
Baudinette
J
J
Nelson
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002196:Capillaries / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004058:Diffusion; D005453:Fluorescence; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D051381:Rats