MusFIG 6G-K: Interdigitation of muscle arms from the dorsal neck muscles at the level of the dorsal cord.

Illustrations are reconstructions made from tracings of serial section TEMs of neck muscles (based on[ MRC] N2U series) (Liu et al., 2007).

G. Image is representative of the micrographs used in the tracings. Transverse section from the dorsal side of the neck. (Red, yellow, green, blue, turquoise, and gray) Muscles and muscle arms; (red line) dorsal nerve cord. Some of these muscle arms may belong to the same (right side or left side) muscle cells, although they are shown in different colors here. The colors correspond to the muscles and muscle arms shown in subsequent (H-K) panels. Bar, 1 μm. (Image source: N2U A334-12)
H. Transverse view. Cuticle is artistically rendered and is not from actual tracing. Muscle arms crowd around the dorsal nerve cord.
I. Ventral view showing the extensive interdigitation of the muscle arms.
J. Dorsal view. Shown are cell bodies of the two muscle cells (red and green) from the inner rows of the two dorsal muscle quadrants, which flank the dorsal cord.
K. Dorsal view. Muscle cells are removed to expose the relationship between the dorsal cord and four muscle arms (gray, yellow, blue, and turquoise). (Lavender, pink, brown, and dark green) Reconstructions of four selected dorsal nerve cord neurons. The remaining dorsal cord neurons did not contact muscle arms at this level and, hence, were not traced.

See MusMOVIE 2 for a 3-D reconstruction of how neck muscle arms interdigitate at the region of the dorsal nerve cord based on tracings by Tylon Stephney. Reconstruction was created by Huawei Weng using Imaris software.

See also MusFIG 6A-F.

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