title: Gross anatomical study of the sympathetic cardiac nerves in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus).
abstract: The sympathetic cardiac nerves originating from the cervical and upper thoracic sympathetic ganglia in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus) were examined using macroscopic and whole-mount immunohistochemical methods. Based on the results, the nerves were macroscopically classified into the following three groups: nerves innervating the cervical sympathetic ganglia mainly to the arterial porta of the heart; nerves supplying the stellate and thoracic sympathetic ganglia at the level of T2-T5 or T6 for both the arterial and venous portae of the heart; and nerves innervating the thoracic sympathetic ganglia at the level of T4-T9 to the esophagus and lung and then the heart via the blood vessels within the mediastinal pleura. These findings in the house musk shrew suggest a possible primitive morphological pattern of the cervical and thoracic sympathetic nervous system that may be related to those in other mammals, including humans.
authors: Department of Anatomy and Neuroembryology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan. at_ink@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
authors: Ai
authors: A
authors: Tanaka
authors: Shigenori
authors: S
authors: Tanaka
authors: Kensaku
authors: K
authors: Miyamoto
authors: Shuang-Qin
authors: SQ
authors: Yi
authors: Toshio
authors: T
authors: Nakatani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006321:Heart / Q000294:innervation*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012788:Shrews / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013233:Stellate Ganglion / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D017783:Superior Cervical Ganglion / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014680:Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology