Cerebral cortex and Hippocampus of the African Striped Ground Squirrel (Xerus erythropus) - Cytoar- chitectural Studies.

Abiyere, Ese Oristejafore; Umosen, Akpan Dominic; ALI,, Magdalene Nkwesh; Umar, Muhammed Bello; Muazu,, Tauheed Abubakar; Zubairu, Mansur; Ajeigbe, Sherif Olawale; Omar, Hosea Aske; Usende,, Ifukibot Levi

doi:10.21608/jva.2023.318476

Cerebral cortex and Hippocampus of the African Striped Ground Squirrel (Xerus erythropus) - Cytoar- chitectural Studies.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Departement of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

² Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

³ Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria

⁴ Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Federal college of Agriculture Zuru

⁵ Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi

⁶ Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Abuja

10.21608/jva.2023.318476

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the special neuroanatomical features of the cerebral halves of the African striped ground squirrel (ASGS). The study was conducted by direct observation of ten (10) adult ASGS. They were anaesthetized with an intraperitoneal injection of ketamine Hcl (50mg/kg body weight), Histological sections were prepared after fixation and routine tissue processing. Tissue sections were serially obtained with a microtome and stained using hematoxylin and eosin as routine stain and cresyl fast violet stain. The Cytoarchitecture of the cerebral cortex of the ASGS revealed six (6) layers: Molecular or Plexiform layer, External granular layer, External pyramidal layer, Internal granular layer, Internal pyramidal cells layers and multiform or polymorphic layer. The layers were, however, distinguishable on the basis of predominance of cell types. Interestingly was the numerous and large pyramidal neurons seen in the internal pyramidal layer which could be responsible for the high cognitive and motor function ability of the rodent in the wild. The hippocampus observed in this study, with respect to stratification, subfields and cell types, was similar to those reported in the African giant rats and laboratory rats. Cell types identified in the hippocampus of the squirrel include pyramidal cells, granule cells and mossy cells. Hippocampal proper subfields Cornu Ammonus 1- 4 (CA1 to CA4) were identified. Together, these results provide essential baseline information on the cerebral cortex and Hippocampus of the ASGS that will enable more accurate comparison to be made between members of the rodent family.

Keywords

Main Subjects