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Figure 1. Microvascular anatomy of the brain in adult X. laevis. Vascular corrosion cast. SEM. Ventral view displaying telencephalic hemispheres (tel), preoptic area (pa), hypothalamus (hyp), hypophysis (hy), and mesencephalic and rhombencephalic tegmentum (teg). Arterial vessels are red, venous vessels are blue, and meningeal vessels are green. Asterisks mark extravasates. For further abbreviations in this and following figures see the list of abbreviations
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Figure 2. Gross arterial supply and venous drainage of olfactory bulb (ob), telencephalon (tel), and preoptic area (pa). Ventral view
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Figure 3. Anatomy of the vertebroâbasilar arterial system. Inset a. Communicating arteries (arrows) bifurcate before they join the basilar artery (ba) bilaterally. Inset b. Asymmetric junctions of left (1) and right (2) communicating arteries with the basilar artery (3). Asterisks mark conductive bridges
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Figure 4. Microvascular anatomy of the ventral hypothalamoâhypophysial region. Ventral aspect. Note the superficial infundibular artery (sia) which gives off a medially directed branch (large arrows) supplying the delicate capillary network of the retrochiasmatic (rostral) and infundibular (caudal) region. The parent artery bends toward caudal to supply the median eminence (me) via a medially directed branch (arrowheads) and the intermediate lobe of the hypophysis (ilhy) via a laterally directed terminal branch (small arrows)
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Figure 5. Same as Figure 4 but after removal of vascular beds of infundibular region (ventral hypothalamus) and hypophysis. Note the deeply penetrating branches of the superficial infundibular arteries (sia; arrowheads), the retroinfundibular communicating artery (rica) and the origin of prominent ascending rostral tegmental arteries (rta). Inset a. Histomorphology of (right) optic tectum (ot) and tegmentum (teg) of the mesencephalon. Paraplast embedded Goldner stained tissue section (7 µm). Transverse section at the level of the ascending rostral tegmental arteries (arrowheads). Arrow marks the mesencephalic ventricle. ir, infundibular recess. Inset b. Same as inset a, but slightly more caudal section. Note the horizontally running caudal branch of the (right) rostral tegmental artery (arrow) and its ascending branch (arrowhead)
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Figure 6. Arterial supply and venous drainage of the dorsal hypothalamus. Note the arterial supply via the deep infundibular artery (dia) and subependymally located rostral branches of rostral tegmental arteries (rta). The diencephalic vein (dv) drains rostral areas while the hypothalamic vein (hv) drains caudal areas
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Figure 7. Same specimen as in Figure 6, but after exposure of the deep infundibular artery by removal of overlaying vessels. Note that the artery runs without branching straight toward the subependymal zone where it branches into rostrally and caudally directed branches
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Figure 8. Internal microvascular anatomy of the brain of adult X. laevis. Sagittally sectioned vascular corrosion cast. Right half of the brain displaying telencephalon (tel), diencephalon (di) (without hypothalamus and hypophysis), mesencephalon (mes), cerebellum (cer), and rhombencephalon (rho). Asterisks mark conductive bridges
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Figure 9. Histomorphology of the brain of adult X. laevis. Paraplast embedding. Goldner stained sagittal section (7 µm) at a similar level as displayed in Figure 8. (1) anterior lobe of hypophysis, (2) intermediate lobe of hypophysis, (3) posterior lobe of hypophysis, (4) retroinfundibular communicating artery, and (5) encephaloâposthypophysial portal vein
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Figure 10. Origin of the preoptic artery (poa) from the anterior branch of the cerebral carotid artery (ab). Note the coiling of the artery (arrowhead) and the sideâbranch of the artery (arrow)
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Figure 11. Branching pattern of the preoptic artery (poa) within the subependymal zone of the preoptic area. Note the branches directed anteriorly, laterally, and caudally. Anterior is to the left
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Figure 12. Exposed terminal branching of the striatal artery (sa). Lateral view
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Figure 13. Microvascular anatomy of pallial, septal, and striatal areas. Transverse section. Oblique frontal view. Arrows mark external border between pallium and subpallium
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Figure 14. Course and subependymal branching of the striatal artery (sa). Frontoâlateral view
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Figure 15. Origin, course, and areas of supply of the posterior telencephalic artery (pta). Inset a. Terminal portion of the posterior telencephalic artery (arrow). Inset b. Histomorphology of the right telencephalic hemisphere. Transverse section (7 µm). Goldner staining. Note the ascending posterior telencephalic artery (arrowheads)
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Figure 16. Obliquely ascending posterior telencephalic artery (pta) giving off a rostrally directed branch at the level of the dorsomedial pallium (arrowhead). The main trunk bends toward caudal and issues several branches (arrows). Inset a. Characteristic endothelial cell nuclei imprints (arrowheads) at the surface of a cast artery (posterior telencephalic artery). Imprints are longish and orientate parallel to the vessel axis. Inset b. Characteristic endothelial cell nuclei imprints (arrowheads) at the surface of a cast vein (interhemispheric vein). Imprints are oval to roundish and orientate randomly
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Figure 17. Bifurcation of the posterior telencephalic artery (pta) at the border area between medioâcaudal poles of telencephalic hemispheres (tel) and choroid plexus of the third ventricle (cp III)
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Figure 18. Microvascular anatomy of the pial surface of the posterior pole of the telencephalon (tel), epithalamus (epi), thalamus (th), optic tectum (ot), mesencephalic, and rhombencephalic tegmentum (teg). Lateral view. Rostral is to the right. Note the small caliber of the diencephalic artery (da) which shares a common stem with a lateral tegmental artery (arrow). The posterior superior mesencephalic artery (psma) shares a common stem with the inferior mesencephalic (tegmental) artery (arrowhead)
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Figure 19. Microvascular anatomy of caudal dorsal (dp) and lateral pallium (lp), epithalamus (epi) and optic tectum (ot). Dorsoâlateral view. Note the prominent oblique cranial vein (ocv) and the medially located longitudinal mesencephalic vein (lmv) which by two tributaries (arrows) drains epithalamic, thalamic and rostral, and lateral areas of the optic tecta
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Figure 20. Branch of the diencephalic artery (da) within the (right) dorsal thalamus (dth) after removal of subependymal vessels. Ventricular view. Rostral is to the left
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Figure 21. Microvascular anatomy of the brain of adult X. laevis. Dorsal view. Note the dorsal location of cranial veins
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Figure 22. Vascular patterns of paraphysis (par) and choroid plexus of the third ventricle (cp III). Dorsal aspect. Note the veins (v) draining medial pallial areas into the choroid plexus. Arrows indicate proposed direction of blood flow
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Figure 23. Isolated choroid plexus of the third ventricle. Same specimen as in Figure 22, but ventroâlateral aspect. The interhemispheric vein (asterisk) continues as wide sinusoid within the plexus. Note the many sites of ongoing intussusceptive microvascular growth (arrows)
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Figure 24. Arterial supply and venous drainage of the mesencephalon (parts of the rostral optic tecta are removed). Anterior is at bottom. Note the prominent anterior inferior mesencephalic arteries (aima) which first penetrate deeply into subependymal areas and then curve in a semicircular manner (arrows). Branches from the posterior superior mesencephalic arteries (psma) radiate from caudally deep into the optic tecta (arrowheads)
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Figure 25. Origin and course of anterior superior mesencephalic artery (asma). Note the coiling of the artery at the rostrolateral area of the optic tectum (ot). Rostral is to the left
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Figure 26. Arterial supply and venous drainage of the left optic tectum. Rostral is to the left. Note the transverse course of the posterior superior mesencephalic artery (psma; arrowheads) within the cleft between optic tectum (ot) and cerebellum (hidden by the overlying choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle (cp IV)
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Figure 27. Arterial supply and venous drainage of the semicircular torus (st). Note the location of the innermost arteriole (arrowheads) close beneath the subependymal capillary bed and the radial arrangement of tectal vessels
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Figure 28. Origin of the rostral tegmental arteries (rta) from the retroinfundibular communicating artery (rica). Lateral view. Note the bifurcations of the arteries into anteriorly (small arrows) and posteriorly directed branches (large arrows)
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Figure 29. Course and branching pattern of branches of rostral tegmental arteries (rta). Note that caudal branches terminate in the lateral optic tectum (lot) and rostral branches in the rostral optic tectum (rot)
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Figure 30. Microvascular anatomy of the cerebellar (cer)ârhombencephalic (rho) area. Dorsal view. Choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle is removed to expose the rhombencephalic fossa (rf). Note the circumferentially running tegmental veins (arrowheads) which drain into the choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle. Asterisks mark conductive bridges
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Figure 31. Arterial supply and venous drainage of the cerebellum. Rostral is at top. Choroid plexus IV is removed to expose the course of the posterior superior mesencephalic artery (psma) within the cleft between cerebellum (cer) and optic tecta (ot). Note several small cerebellar arteries (arrowheads) branching off the posterior superior mesencephalic artery
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Figure 32. Vascular architecture of the rhombencephalic tegmentum (teg) and cochlearâvestibular nuclear regions (cvr). Slightly parasaggitally sectioned rhombencephalon. Rostral is to the right. Note origin, course and branching patterns of central arteries (ca). Inset a. Central arteries (arrowheads) branching off the lateral circumference of the basilar artery (ba). Inset b. Central arteries branching immediately after their origin from the basilar artery (arrowheads)
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Figure 33. Branching patterns of central arteries. Dorsal view at bifurcating central arteries (ca) after removal of subependymal vessels. Note branches to right or left tegmental areas (arrowheads)
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Figure 34. Microvascular anatomy of the caudal rhombencephalon. Transverse section at the level indicated by the dashed line in Figure 30. Frontal view indicated by arrows in Figure 30. Note an ascending central artery (ca) supplying the right side and horizontally running branches of a more anterior central artery on the left side of the rhombencephalon
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Figure 35. Radial arrangement of rhombencephalic tegmental capillaries (c). Detail from Figure 34 (box). Specimen slightly tilted. Note Hâshaped (arrowhead) and Yâshaped (arrows) branchings
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Figure 36. Gross arterial supply and venous drainage of olfactory bulb (ob), telencephalon (tel) and diencephalon (di). Ventroâlateral view. Rostral is to the right. Note the lateral telencephalic vein (ltv) and its dorsal and ventral tributaries. Inset a. Confluence of cerebral veins at the level of the prootic foramen. Lateral view
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Figure 37. Course and caliber of the (right) oblique cranial vein (ocv). Lateral view at the optic tectum (ot), diencephalon (di), and caudal telencephalon (tel). Rostral is to the right
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Figure 38. Anatomy of the encephaloâposthypophysial portal system. Ventral aspect. Hypophysis and caudal infundibulum are removed. Note the hypothalamic branch (hb) and the ventral tegmental branches (vtb) of the portal system
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Figure 39. Vascular anatomy of the hypophysis. Longitudinal section through mesencephalic tegmentum and hypophysis. Note the drainage of the encephaloâposthypophysial portal system into the rostroâdorsal area of the posterior lobe of the hypophysis (plhy)
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Figure 40. Venous drainage of the semicircular torus (st) into the anterior region of the choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle (cp IV). Medial aspect. Rostral is to the right
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Figure 41. Vascular anatomy of the roof (tela choroidea) of the fourth ventricle. Dorsal aspect. Note that the choroid plexus (cp IV) does not cover the entire length of the rhombencephalic fossa (rf)
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Figure 42. Arterial supply of the choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle by a small choroidal artery (cha). Note choroidal veins (cv) draining into the oblique occipital veins (oov)
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Figure 43. Major arteries and veins at the ventral surface of the brain of adult X. laevis. Ventral hypothalamus, hypophysis, and proximal portions of anterior and posterior branches of the cerebral carotid arteries are removed. Note the origin of the circumferential tegmental veins (arrowheads) at the ventral midline (arrows)
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Figure 44. Vascular anatomy of the choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle. Ventral aspect. Note marginal choroidal tela (cht), central choroidal folds (cf), and left oblique occipital vein (oov). Arrowheads point at the sites where rhombencephalic tegmental veins drain into the choroid plexus
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Figure 45. Detail from Figure 44. Vertical, transversely orientated choroidal folds (cf) made up from a dense 2D network of sinusoids. Choroidal folds reveal ventral venules (vv) which interconnect at the midline. Note the many sites of ongoing intussusceptive angiogenesis (arrows)
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Figure 46. Microvascular anatomy of the accessory olfactory bulb (aob). Ventroâlateral view. Note the dense capillary bed supplied by a branch of the lateral olfactory artery (loa) and the drainage by ventral, lateral, and dorsal branches of the lateral telencephalic vein (ltv)
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Figure 47. Microvascular pattern of the cochlearâvestibular complex as seen from the rhombencephalic fossa. By the parasagittal section part of the subependymal capillary bed is sectionedâoff and underlying supplying arterioles are seen. Note that several capillaries join into single venules which ascend parallel to drain into the choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle (cp IV)
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