ISSN:
0362-2525
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Marlins, sailfish, and spearfishes have a heat-producing tissue beneath the brain and adjacent to the eyes. This tissue warms the brain and eyes while the rest of the body remains at water temperature. The heater tissue is derived from the superior rectus eye muscle. Only a portion of this eye muscle contains normal skeletal muscle tissue; the rest consists of the modified muscle tissue that is associated with heat production. The heat-producing portion is supplied with blood through a countercurrent heat exchanger that originates from the carotid artery. The vascular rete prevents the heat being produced by the tissue from being dissipated at the gill. An unusual circulatory supply to the eyes and brain is associated with the presence of the heater tissue in these fishes.
Additional Material:
13 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmor.1051900203
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