Premium
Volumetric Analysis of the African Elephant Ventricular System
Author(s) -
Maskeo Busisiwe C.,
Spocter Muhammed A.,
Haagensen Mark,
Manger Paul R.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the anatomical record: advances in integrative anatomy and evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.21431
Subject(s) - african elephant , brain size , allometry , context (archaeology) , ventricular volume , ventricular system , mammal , volume (thermodynamics) , magnetic resonance imaging , human brain , lateral ventricles , biology , anatomy , zoology , medicine , cardiology , neuroscience , ecology , physics , radiology , heart failure , paleontology , cerebrospinal fluid , ejection fraction , quantum mechanics
Abstract This study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the volume of the ventricular system in the brain of three adult male African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ). The ventricular system of the elephant has a volume of ∼240 mL, an order of magnitude larger than that seen in the adult human. Despite this large size, allometric analysis indicates that the volume of the ventricles in the elephant is what one would expect for a mammal with an ∼5 kg brain. Interestingly, our comparison with other mammals revealed that primates appear to have small relative ventricular volumes, and that megachiropterans and microchiropterans follow different scaling rules when comparing ventricular volume to brain mass indicating separate phylogenetic histories. The current study provides context for one aspect of the elephant brain in the broader picture of mammalian brain evolution. Anat Rec, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.