RT Conference Proceedings
T1 DISTRIBUTION OF PIGMENT CELLS IN THE HEART OF THE RABBITFISH, CHIMAERA MONSTROSA (CONDRICHTHYES: HOLOCEPHALI)
A1 Sans-Coma, Valentín
A1 Linares, Andrea
A1 Rodríguez, Cristina
A1 Torres-Prioris, Agustina María
A1 Fernández, Borja
A1 Durán, Ana C.
K1 Quimeriformes - Anatomía
AB The study of extracutaneous cells producing and storing melanin is of interest because itmay provide valuable information about the presence of neural crest elements in internalorgans and tissues. Here we report, for the first time, the presence and distribution ofmelanophores in the heart of a chondrichthyan species, the rabbitfish, Chimaeramonstrosa. Pigment cells were found in all of 20 hearts examined. Pigment cells occurmainly in the cardiac outflow tract, which consists of two anatomical components, theproximal, myocardial conus arteriosus and the distal, non-myocardial bulbus arteriosus.A few groups of dark pigmented cells were found in the apex of the ventricle of onespecimen and in the atrium of two specimens. In all instances, the melanophores werelocated in the subepicardial space, where they could be well recognized in bothunstained and stained histological sections. The distribution and intensity of thepigmentation in the cardiac outflow tract varies markedly between individuals. In allcases, however, the pigmented area is larger on the dorsal than on the ventral surface.Dorsally, the size of the pigmented area ranges from a fringe that includes the bulbusand the distal part of the conus to the whole surface of the outflow tract. Ventrally, thepigmented area does not cover the entire conus arteriosus. The intensity of thepigmentation also varies widely; in general, it is highest at the distal portion of the conus.There is no relationship between the distribution and intensity of the pigmentation andthe sex and age of the animals. The functional role of the pigmented cells is unknown. Ifthe melanophores in the heart of C. monstrosa are indeed of neural crest origin, it wouldsuggest a notable contribution of the neural crest cells to the cardiac outflow tract inholocephalans.
YR 2013
FD 2013-07-25
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10630/5657
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10630/5657
LA eng
NO El resumen aparece en el Program & Abstracts of the 10th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Barcelona 2013. Anatomical Record, Volume 296, Special Feature — 1: P-076.
NO Proyecto CGL2010-16417/BOS; Fondos FEDERBES-2011-046901
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 19 ene 2026