Anatomy of the XXXX hepatobiliary system: A whole-organ-level analysis using a transparency method.

@entity19 @entity1 @entity600
UNASSIGNED: The biliary tract is a well-branched ductal structure that exhibits great variation in morphology among vertebrates. Its function is maintained by complex constructions of blood vessels, nerves, and smooth muscles, the so-called hepatobiliary system. Although the @entity19 ( @entity19 ) has been used as a model organism for @entity1 , the morphology of its hepatobiliary system has not been well documented at the topographical level, mostly because of its small size and complexity. To reconcile this, we conducted whole-mount anatomical descriptions of the @entity19 extrahepatic biliary tracts with related blood vessels, nerves and smooth muscles using a recently developed transparentizing method, CUBIC.   Several major differences from @entity1 were found in @entity19 ; (1) Among the biliary arteries, the arteria gastrica sinistra accessoria was commonly found, which rarely appears in @entity1 ; (2) The sphincter muscle in the choledochoduodenal junction is un-separated from the duodenal muscle; (3) The pancreatic duct opens to the bile duct without any sphincter muscles because of its distance from the duodenum. This state is identical to a @entity1 @entity600 , an anomalous arrangement of pancreaticobiliary ducts (APBDs). However, other parts of the @entity19 hepatobiliary system (such as the branching patterns of the biliary tract, blood vessels and nerves) presented the same patterns as @entity1 and other mammals topologically. Thus the @entity19 is useful as an experimental model for studying the @entity1 hepatobiliary system. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
