The Morphogenesis of the Posterior Neural Tube and Tail in Monodelphis domesticus

Abstract

The process of secondary neuralation has been studied in the Brazilian opossum, Monodelphis domesticus. Secondary neuralation in this mammal was found to have qualities of secondary neuralation that were present in both the chick and the mouse. In this study, four stages of secondary neuralation were found beginning with the medullary cord stage. Other stages in the differentiation of the secondary neural tube were: differentiation of the neuroepithelium, cavitation of the medullary cord, and proliferation of the neural tube. The process of secondary neuralation proceeded in a rostral-to-caudal direction and was found to be independent of age. Diastematomyelia (doubling of the tube) was found in several animals. The process of cavitation was completed by the joining of severall small, focal cavities in a rostral-to-caudal direction. The most distinctive feature of secondary neuralation in this animal was the finding of axons within the secondary neural tube, a feature not characteristic of either the chick or the mouse.