Date of Award

9-1938

Degree Type

Bachelors Essay

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (BS)

Department

Biological Sciences

First Advisor

William N. Steil

Second Advisor

Paul L. Carroll

Third Advisor

W.J. Keegan

Abstract

The common grass frog, Rana pipiens as wall as the bull frog, Rana catesbiana have served during many decades as material from which both the student of zoology and the investigator in biological problems have gathered valuable information about the anatomy and physiology of the common systems. Among these systems the central, peripheral, and sympathetic nervous system plays a coordinating role, because of the ramifying nature of its organization. It is the purpose of this thesis to investigate the gross and histological structure of these branches known as spinal nerves. When one inspects the literature on the nervous system of the frog, numerous papers deal with the relation of the nerve to the muscle, while few authors treat specifically of the anatomy and histology of the spinal nerves, but rather deal with other biological phenomena. When we turn to the texts on the frog, we find that Wyman (1853) seems to be the first worker to treat specifically of the nervous system of the frog. Then in 1870, Masius and Vaular wrote on the structure of the central canal. The classical work of Ecker (1889) is well known to all who have even a slight acquaintance with the literature on the frog. Marshall (1932) and Shumway (1937) do not add further information about the nervous system of the frog, but seem to have accepted the findings of Ecker. While they do not treat specifically of the histology of the nervous system of the frog, Cajal (Translation by Fernan-Nunez 1933), and Scott and Kendall (1935) give valuable information about the histology of the nervous system of vertebrates which was used for a more accurate interpretation of the sections of the spinal cord prepared as material for this thesis. Finally the volume by Holmes (1927) which treats of the frog from the ecology of its habitat to the "intelligence" of the individual adult, includes a fairly complete treatise on the spinal nerves. However, the results of a study of the same nerves carried on during a preparation of this thesis, reveal that the literature of the past hundred years does not do justice to the intricate arrangement of the spinal nerves nor to their numerous rami nor to their cellular constituents. It may be that the photograph of the nerves in situ and the projection print of the macerated dissection of the nervous system will not only add to the previous knowledge of the frog's nervous system, but will encourage others to continue an investigation in all but a virgin field.

Comments

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Liberal Arts of Marquette University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Download

Share

COinS