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Existence and features of the myodural bridge in Gallus domesticus: indication of its important physiological function

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Abstract

The myodural bridge (MDB) is a dense connective tissue that connects muscles with the cervical spinal dura mater via the posterior atlanto-occipital and atlato-axial interspaces. To date, the physiological function of the MDB has not been fully elucidated. Recent studies have identified the presence of the MDB in mammals, but very little information is available on the existence of the MDB in avifauna. We selected Gallus domesticus to explore the existence and the fiber property of the MDB in avifauna. We found that in this species, fibers originating from the ventral aspect of the rectus capitis dorsal minor are fused with the dorsal atlanto-occipital membrane and that numerous trabeculae connect the dorsal atlanto-occipital membrane with the cervical spinal dura mater. Furthermore, the occipital venous sinus is located between the trabeculae. The MDB is mainly composed of collagen type I fibers. Our results show that the MDB is present in G. domesticus and lead us to infer that the MDB is a highly conservative evolutionary structure which may play essential physiological roles.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ye-Xian Fan and Bing-Yi Luan in Dalian Hoffen Preservation Technique Institution for helping with preparing the sagittal sections.

Funding

This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC31600972, NSFC31571234), Liaoning Province Department of Education Funds (L2016012).

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Author notes

  1. Ya-Ru Dou and Nan Zheng contributed equally to this work.

  2. Sheng-Bo Yu and Hong-Jin Sui contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, College of Basic Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China

    Ya-Ru Dou, Nan Zheng, Jing Gong, Wei Tang, Chukwuemeka Samuel Okoye, Sheng-Bo Yu & Hong-Jin Sui

  2. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China

    Ying Zhang & Yu Zhang

  3. The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China

    Yu-Xiao Chen, Shi-Yi Pi & Lian-Cong Qu

  4. Dalian Hoffen Preservation Institution, Dalian, China

    Hong-Jin Sui

Authors
  1. Ya-Ru Dou
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  2. Nan Zheng
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  3. Jing Gong
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  4. Wei Tang
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  5. Chukwuemeka Samuel Okoye
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  6. Ying Zhang
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  7. Yu-Xiao Chen
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  8. Yu Zhang
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  9. Shi-Yi Pi
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  11. Sheng-Bo Yu
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  12. Hong-Jin Sui
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Contributions

YRD conceived the study, performed the study, interpreted the data, prepared the figures, and wrote the manuscript. NZ supervised the research, performed the macroscopic analysis, and edited the manuscript. JG performed the scanning electron microscopy examination. TW performed the thick Sagittal section examination. OCS edited the manuscript. YZ, YZ, YXC, SYP, LCQ performed the anatomical dissections. SBY, HJS collected the research material, supervised the research, and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the last version of manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sheng-Bo Yu or Hong-Jin Sui.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Dou, YR., Zheng, N., Gong, J. et al. Existence and features of the myodural bridge in Gallus domesticus: indication of its important physiological function. Anat Sci Int 94, 184–191 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-018-00470-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-018-00470-2

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