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CT examination of the manipulation system in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 1999

HIDEKI ENDO ,
YOSHIHIRO HAYASHI ,
DAISHIRO YAMAGIWA ,
MASAMICHI KUROHMARU ,
HIROSHI KOIE ,
YOSHIKI YAMAYA  and
JUNPEI KIMURA
HIDEKI ENDO
Affiliation:
Departments of Zoology, National Science Museum, Tokyo, Japan
YOSHIHIRO HAYASHI
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo, Japan
DAISHIRO YAMAGIWA
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo, Japan
MASAMICHI KUROHMARU
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo, Japan
HIROSHI KOIE
Affiliation:
Animal Medical Center, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan
YOSHIKI YAMAYA
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan
JUNPEI KIMURA
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Anatomy, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan
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Abstract

The manipulation mechanism of the giant panda (Ailuropida melanoleuca) was examined by means of CT (computed tomography) and 3-dimensional (3-D) Volume Rendering techniques. In the 3-D images of the giant panda hand, not only the bones but also the muscular system was visualised. Sections of the articulated skeleton were obtained. It was demonstrated that the hand of the panda is equipped with separately moulded manipulation units as follows: (1) the radial sesamoid (RS), the radial carpal, and the first metacarpal (R–R–M) complex; and (2) the accessory carpal (AC) and the ulnar (A–U) complex. When the giant panda grasps anything, the R–R–M complex strongly flexes at the wrist joint, the RS becomes parallel with the AC, and the phalanges bend and hold the object. It is shown that the well-developed opponens pollicis and abductor pollicis brevis muscles envelop and fix the objects between the R–R–M complex and the phalanges during grasping.

Keywords

Osteologymyologyradial sesamoid boneVolume Rendering
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Anatomy , Volume 195 , Issue 2 , August 1999 , pp. 295 - 300
Copyright
© Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1999

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