The occurrence of arterio-venous anastomoses in the tongue of the dog

✍ Scribed by Brown, Margaret E.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1937
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 965 KB
• Volume: 69
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-276X
• DOI: 10.1002/ar.1090690304

✦ Synopsis

The study of direct communications between arteries and veins (arterio-venous anastomoses) has aroused considerable interest in recent years. These arterio-venous connections are now known to be of widespread occurrence in mammals. A detailed account of their distribution and structure in birds and mammals has been given by Max Clara ( '27).

As far as I am aware, arterio-venous anastomoses have never been seen in the tongue of any of the laboratory animals, and a positive statement to the effect that they do not occur in the rabbit's tongue is made by Vastarini Cresi (quoted by Clara, '27). Work in this laboratory on the nerve supply of the tongue of rabbits and cats has never disclosed any of these structures ; however, their presence had been suspected in the dog's tongue by Dr. J. F. Nonidez. His attention was first attracted by the abundance of thick, apparently sensory fibers, present in the adventitia of certain arterial segments with modified walls. At his suggestion the study of these fibers and the arterio-venous anastomoses which they supply was undertaken.