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Functional Morphology of the Vestibular End Organs in the Red-eared Slider Turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans

Riddell, Clinton D.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1399473186

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences).
The vestibular system generally consists of two otolith organs, the utricle and saccule, which sense linear accelerations and spatial orientation of the head relative to gravity, and three membranous ducts (anterior, posterior and horizontal) that lie roughly orthogonal to one another. The membranous ducts are partially enclosed in bony semicircular canals and are responsible for measuring angular accelerations of the head. Understanding how these organs encode head movements into afferent responses requires that the geometry and orientation of the otolith organs and semicircular ducts within the head be determined. This is the first study that determines the geometry of the membranous ducts in the turtle, and it uses an improved method to build on a previous study (Brichta, et al., 1988) which looked at bony canal geometry. Also, this is the first study for any species that measures the angular relations between the utricle and semicircular ducts. My research found that the bony canals deviate much more from orthogonality than previously suspected from the Brichta, et al., 1988 paper. Membranous duct planes were much more orthogonal than the bony canals. The utricle and horizontal duct were found to be nearly co-planar with only a median angle of 12.365° (n = 4) separating them.
Michael Rowe (Committee Member)
Ellengene Peterson (Committee Member)
74 p.
Anatomy and Physiology; Neurosciences
turtle; vestibular system; vestibular; balance; labyrinth; utricle geometry; semicircular canals; membranous ducts; functional morphology; utricular; neuroanatomy; vertigo

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Riddell, C. D. (2014). Functional Morphology of the Vestibular End Organs in the Red-eared Slider Turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1399473186

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Riddell, Clinton. Functional Morphology of the Vestibular End Organs in the Red-eared Slider Turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans. 2014. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1399473186.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Riddell, Clinton. "Functional Morphology of the Vestibular End Organs in the Red-eared Slider Turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1399473186

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1399473186
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© 2014, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12