Topological analysis of the brainstem of the reedfish, Erpetoichthys calabaricus

The ventricular sulcal pattern and the cellular structure of the brainstem of the reedfish Erpetoichthys calabaricus were studied in transversely cut Nissl‐, Klüver‐Barrera‐, and Bodian‐stained serial sections. Six longitudinal sulci, the sulcus medianus inferior, the sulcus intermedius ventralis, the sulcus limitans, the sulcus intermedius dorsalis, the sulcus medianus superior, and the sulcus lateralis mesencephali could be distinguished. A seventh groove, the sulcus isthmi, clearly deviates from the overall longitudinal pattern of the other sulci. Although in Erpetoichthys most neuronal perikarya are contained within a diffuse periventricular gray, 32 cell masses could be delineated; six of these are primary efferent or motor nuclei, seven are primary afferent or sensory centers, nine are considered to be components of the reticular formation, and the remaining ten may be interpreted as “relay” nuclei. In order to study the zonal pattern of the brainstem, this structure was subjected to a topological analysis (cf. Nieuwenhuys, '74 and Fig. 15) which yielded the following result. In the rhombencephalon the gray matter is arranged in four longitudinal columns or areas termed area ventralis, area intermedioventralis, area intermediodorsalis, and area dorsalis. In many places the sulcus intermedius ventralis, the sulcus limitans, and the sulcus intermedius dorsalis mark the boundaries between these morphological entities. These longitudinal areas coincide largely, but not entirely, with the so‐called functional columns of Herrick and Johnston. The most obvious incongruity is that the area intermediodorsalis contains, in addition to the nucleus of the solitary tract, three nonviscerosensory cell masses, namely, the nucleus vestibularis magnocellularis and parvocellularis and the nucleus of the tractus descendens of V. The four longitudinal zones cannot be distinguished in the mesencephalon nor can the sulcus limitans be recognized here. Functionally, however, the medial part of the tegmentum mesencephali may be considered the rostral extreme of the somatomotor column, whereas the remainder of the midbrain contains a number of somatosensory centers.