Summary
The origin of the notochord in the rat tail was investigated on transverse serial semi-thin and ultra-thin sections of 12- and 13-day embryo tails. It was found that the notochord develops from a mass of condensed mesenchymal cells which is located ventrally to the secondary neural tube, and which subsequently splits into a) a thin cord which becomes notochord and b) a thick portion which gives rise to the tail gut. By analogy with the secondary neurulation and the secondary gut formation, one might therefore speak of a secondary notochord formation in the tail. It occurs in close relationship with the formation of the tail gut.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Butcher EO (1929) The development of the somites in the white rat (mus norvegicus albinus) and the fate of the myotomes, neural tube, and gut in the tail. Am J Anat 44:381–439
Galić M, Saraga-Babić M, Švajger A (1986) Electron microscopic observations on the notochord of human embryos and fetuses. Rad Jugosl Akad Znan Umjet 424:239–273
Holmdahl DE (1935) Primitivstreifen beziehungsweise die Rumpfschwanzknospe im Verhältnis zur Körperentwicklung. Z Mikrosk Anat Forsch 38:409–440
Jolly J, Férester-Tadié M (1936) Recherches sur l'oeuf du rat et de la souris. Arch Anat Microsc 32:323–390
Lamers WH, Spliet WGM, Langemeyer RATM (1987) The liming of the gut in the developing rat embryo. Anat Embryol 176:259–265
Müller F, O'Rahilly R (1987) The development of the human brain, the closure of the caudal neuropore, and the beginning of secondary neurulation at stage 12. Anat Embryol 176:413–430
Nakao T, Ishizawa A (1984) Light- and electron-microscopic observations on the tail bud of the larval lamprey (Lampetra japonica), with special reference to neural tube formation. Am J Anat 170:55–71
Peter K (1941) Die Genese des Endoderms bei den Wirbeltieren. Ergeb Anat Entwicklungsgesch 33:285–369
Peter K (1951) Die zweifache Entwicklung des Wirbeltierkörpers in finaler, erhaltungsfunktioneller Betrachtung. Z Mikrosk Anat Forsch 57:393–401
Poelmann RE (1981) The head-process and the formation of the definitive endoderm in the mouse embryo. Anat Embryol 162:41–49
Schoenwolf GC (1984) Histological and ultrastructural studies of secondary neurulation in mouse embryos. Am J Anat 169:361–376
Švajger A, Kostović-Knežević Lj, Bradamante Ž, Wrischer M (1985) Tail gut formation in rat embryo. Roux's Arch Dev Biol 194:429–432
Švajger A, Levak-Švajger B, Škreb N (1986) Rat embryonic ectoderm as renal isograft. J Embryol Exp Morphol 94:1–27
Tam PPL (1984) The histogenetic capacity of tissues in the caudal end of the embryonic axis of the mouse. J Embryol Exp Morphol 82:253–266
Tam PPL, Meier S, Jacobson AG (1982) Differentiation of the metameric pattern in the embryonic axis of the mouse. II. Somitomeric organization of the presomitic mesoderm. Differentiation 21:109–122
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gajović, S., Kostović-Knežević, L. & Švajger, A. Origin of the notochord in the rat embryo tail. Anat Embryol 179, 305–310 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00326594
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00326594