Fetal and postnatal development of palmar, plantar, and digital pads, and flexion creases of the rat (Rattus norvegicus)

✍ Scribed by Sumiko Kimura; Blanka A. Schaumann; Kohei Shiota

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 839 KB
• Volume: 228
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0362-2525
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4687(199605)228:2<179::aid-jmor6>3.0.co;2-0

✦ Synopsis

Fetal development of the hands and feet of rats was investigated to determine the feasibility of using rats as an experimental model for studying the factors influencing early development of the hands and feet, and especially the dermatoglyphics in humans. Eighty rat fetuses of 14-21 days gestational age and 80 newborn rats of 0-7 days of age were used to study the morphological features of the palmar, plantar, and digital areas and to determine the timing of appearance and the location of the volar pads and flexion creases. Comparisons between analogous developmental stages of rat and human fetuses demonstrate striking similarities in overall fetal development. Marked differences, however, were found between rat and human fetuses in the timing of developmental milestones and in some morphological features. The results indicate that rats can serve as a useful experimental model in studies of the utility of the epidermal ridge configurations and flexion creases in medical disorders, provided that the differences in the timing of development are taken into consideration.