title: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Adipose Tissues in the Head of a Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis): Structure Identification and Influence of a Freezing-Thawing Cycle.
abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to scan the head of a common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) in order to visualize the different adipose tissues involved in echolocation functioning and to precisely delineate their anatomical topology. MRI scans were performed on the head taken from a freshly stranded carcass and repeated after a 2-week freezing time followed by thawing. The main fatty organs of the head, that is the melon, the mandibula bulba, the bursae cantantes, and their different connections with surrounding tissues were identified and labelled. The nasal sacs, other organs of echolocation, were also identified and labelled thanks to different MRI acquisitions. The shape, the location, the type of MRI signal of each organ and of their different connections were successfully analysed on all images, and then, the images of the head fresh or after thawing were compared. No impacts of the freezing/thawing cycle on the fatty tissues of the head were identified. Different parts were distinguished in the melon on the basis of the MRI signal emitted, corresponding most likely to the internal and external melon already identified by other analytical approaches, and linked to differences in lipid composition. MRI is shown here to be a useful tool to study the functional anatomy of the organs responsible for echolocation in odontocetes, with a particularly high level of precision.
authors.affiliation: Service d'anatomie comparée, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire ONIRIS, 102 Route de Gachet, 44300, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arribart
authors.affiliation: Service d'Imagerie Forensique, LaTIM - INSERM UMR 1101, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, CHRU Brest, Boulevard Tanguy Prigent, 29609, Brest Cedex, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ognard
authors.affiliation: Service d'anatomie comparée, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire ONIRIS, 102 Route de Gachet, 44300, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guintard
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biogenèse Membranaire, UMR 5200, Université de Bordeaux, 71 Avenue Edouard Bourlaux, 33883, Villenave d'Ornon Cédex, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Domergue
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'étude des mammifères marins - Océanopolis, Port de Plaisance du Moulin Blanc, 29200, Brest, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hassani
authors.affiliation: Service d'Imagerie Forensique, LaTIM - INSERM UMR 1101, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, CHRU Brest, Boulevard Tanguy Prigent, 29609, Brest Cedex, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5532-2208
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ben Salem
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire BioGeMME, Université de Bretagne Occidentale et Université Bretagne Loire - UFR Sciences et Techniques, 6 ave Le Gorgeu, 29200, Brest, France.
authors.forename: J-L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8795-8056
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000818:Animals; D050696:Common Dolphins / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004455:Echolocation / Q000502:physiology; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000662:veterinary*