Functional histology of quill erection in the porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum
| Autor: | David M. Chapman, Uldis Roze |
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| Rok vydání: | 1997 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Canadian Journal of Zoology. 75:1-10 |
| ISSN: | 1480-3283 0008-4301 |
| Popis: | The histology of the porcupine's skin and subcutis is described. The functional relationships of the thoracic skin during elevation of the quills involve a smooth arrector muscle attached to quill sets, one set behind the other, with the muscle at a slant usually from a single root tip of one set to the distal part of the follicles in the caudal set. Stretched elastin returns the quills to their resting position. There is a low-resistance pathway for the tilting quill roots through loose connective tissue and fat until a collagenous strand attached to the quill set stops further tilt. The lumbosacral region (rosette) has a two-layered arrector, but it attaches to only its own quill set and inserts into the dermis. Both regions have a varied and complicated system of transverse and oblique muscles associated with the roots in a set. (The occurrence of obliques is variable in the thoracic region.) A hypothesis is presented concerning the mechanism of quill detachment from the porcupine after the quill is rammed into a predator. This involves the shearing of the conical root tip along its adherent follicular cells and a stopping device (spool) to prevent the root from self-stabbing. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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