A stereotaxic atlas of the forebrain of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus).
In this article part of the forebrain of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) is presented in stereotaxic coordinates. The stereotaxic procedure was performed as follows. With the vole's head mounted in a stereotaxic adaptor, internal reference tracks were made with a 0.5-mm diameter microdialysis cannula and India ink, 2 mm in front and 2.6 mm behind the skull landmark bregma. Brains were fixed for 72 h in 4% commercial formaldehyde in sodiumcacodylate buffer containing 1% CaCl2. To determine shrinkage they were weighed before and after fixation. After embedding in paraffin they were sectioned at 25 microm and stained with Nissl. Photomicrographs were taken from the brain of one animal while its frontal (antero-posterior) coordinates of five neural structures were compared with those of 12 other voles. Variability was also checked in lateral and vertical directions at frontal level -1.0 mm (relative to bregma). The results show that the distance between the two skull landmarks bregma and lambda correlates significantly and negatively with the antero-posterior position of each of the brain areas. On the basis of these results an equation is proposed to improve accuracy in locating neural structures that deviate due to biological variability.
Vandebroek
I
I
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Ghent, Belgium.
Bouche
K
K
D'Herde
K
K
Caemaert
J
J
Roels
F
F
Odberg
F O
FO
D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques