Megf7/Lrp4 is a member of the functionally diverse low-density lipoprotein receptor gene family, a class of ancient and highly conserved cell surface receptors with broad functions in cargo transport and cellular signaling. To gain insight into the as yet unknown biological role of Megf7/Lrp4, we have disrupted the gene in mice. Homozygous Megf7-deficient mice are growth-retarded, with fully pe...

Three-dimensional musculoskeletal models have become increasingly common for investigating muscle moment arms in studies of vertebrate locomotion. In this study we present the first musculoskeletal model of a western lowland gorilla hind limb. Moment arms of individual muscles around the hip, knee and ankle were compared with previously published data derived from the experimental tendon travel...

Most mammals use lateral sequence gaits during quadrupedal locomotion, a pattern characterized by the touchdown of a forelimb directly following the ipsilateral hind limb in a given stride cycle. Primates, however, tend to use diagonal sequence (DS) gaits, whereby it is the touchdown of a contralateral forelimb that follows that of a given hind limb most closely in time. A number of scenarios h...

Background: Management of lymphedema is a challenging issue in surgery.  A variety of operations have been used, albeit with little success. Objective: To investigate the efficacy of testicular patch as a lymphatic conduit. Methods: An incision was made on the inguinal area of 10 dogs and all lymph nodes of inguinal area were excised. The tunica albuginea and parenchyma near the hilum of testes...

Thirty-four explants of epithelium and subjacent mesenchyme from the hind limb buds of 5-day chick embryos were cultured for 1 to 14 days. Controls consisted of a series of in ovo limb bud specimens from 5 day's incubation to hatching. Both experimental and control specimens were examined by similar electron-microscopic methods. Differentiation of epidermis was precocious and that of dermis ext...

An analysis has been made of the pre-cartilaginous condensation stage in the development of the femur and tibia/fibula skeletal blastemata of the embryonic chick hind limb. Light microscopy serial sections were used to 'map' the mesenchymal cell condensations of both myogenic and chondrogenic anlagen in the limb-bud from stages 22 to 26 (Hamburger & Hamilton, 1951). Cell counts reveal that an i...

DWYER, C. M., and HANKEN, J . 1990. Limb skeletal variation in the Jemez Mountains salamander, Plethodon neomexicanus. Can. J. Zool. 68: 1281-1287. We examine limb skeletal variability in Plethodon neomexicanus, a geographically isolated species of plethodontid salamander endemic to the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, U . S . A. Data are derived from a series of 25 specimens prepared as whole mo...

Amphibians provide a unique opportunity for identifying possible links between lateralized behaviors, locomotion, and phylogeny and for addressing the origin of lateralized behaviors of higher vertebrates. Five anuran species with different locomotive habits were tested for forelimb and hind limb preferences during 2 stereotyped behavior sequences--wiping a foreign object off their snout and ri...

The locomotor central pattern generator is a neural network in the spinal cord that can generate the basic motor pattern for locomotion in the absence of sensory feedback or rhythmic input from the brain. Most research in rodents has focused on hind limb movements: the hind limb CPG is located in lower thoracic and lumbar segments of the spinal cord. This network generates both the locomotor rh...