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Meningeal arteries in rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ): Implications for vascular evolution in anthropoids
Author(s) -
Falk Dean,
Nicholls Philip
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330890304
Subject(s) - middle meningeal artery , anatomy , endocast , meninges , anterior cerebral artery , anterior cranial fossa , cerebral arteries , artery , biology , middle cerebral artery , branching (polymer chemistry) , anterior communicating artery , medicine , skull , pathology , cardiology , radiology , embolization , materials science , ischemia , composite material , subarachnoid hemorrhage
The branching patterns of meningeal arteries are reported for 200 endocast hemispheres representing rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) of known cranial capacity. We detect five basic patterns for the branching of the anterior division of the middle meningeal artery and its relationship with the anterior meningeal artery. These results confirm and elaborate trends published for much smaller samples that were based on direct dissections of rhesus monkey arterial patterns. The most common pattern is that in which the anterior meningeal artery dominates the blood supply above the rostral part of the middle cranial fossa. Analysis of cranial capacities reveals that presence of this pattern on both sides of endocasts is associated with increased cranial capacity. When studied in light of published reports of anatomical dissections of cranial arteries in apes and human embryological data, the anterior meningeal artery in rhesus monkeys appears to be a possible homologue of the lacrimal meningeal artery in apes and the anterior branch of the middle meningeal artery in humans. This finding provides a step towards understanding cranial vasculature homologies that may be useful for accurately scoring the branching patterns of the meningeal arteries in monkeys, apes, and humans. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.