Abstract
IN the lorises, most of the principal blood vessels of the limbs become complex vascular bundles formed by a linear arrangement of many more or less parallel arteries and veins. In cross-section these vessels have a quite regular lattice-work arrangement without any arterial venous anastomoses. Major nerves may pass in the fascial sheath enclosing the whole complex, which is sometimes called a rete mirabile. Fig. 1 shows a typical cross-section of a brachial vascular bundle with its many vessels and neural tissue including a pacinian corpuscle in the sheath. Several authors1–4 have suggested that this particular type of vascular arrangement is related to the ability of these animals to maintain a strong prehensile grip with both hands and feet for prolonged periods of time. Alternatively, others5 have presented experimental evidence that similar vascular bundles in the limbs of sloths are a mechanism for conserving body heat by the principle of counter current heat exchange.
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SUCKLING, J., SUCKLING, E. & WALKER, A. Suggested Function of the Vascular Bundles in the Limbs of Perodicticus potto. Nature 221, 379–380 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/221379a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/221379a0
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