Yamasaki M
Department of Anatomy, Akita University School of Medicine, Japan.
J Anat. 1993 Oct;183 ( Pt 2)(Pt 2):359-66.
The thyroid and thymic arteries were investigated in 27 specimens from 9 species belonging to the Australian Polyprotodont marsupials, which are subdivided into 2 superfamilies, Dasyuroidea and Perameloidea. The results were compared with those in rats and humans. The site of origin of the superior thyroid artery ranged from the external carotid artery to the common carotid in Dasyuroids, and converged on the external carotid and the bifurcation of the common carotid in Perameloids. The course of the superior thyroid artery suggested that it was originally the pharyngeal artery rather than an artery of the thyroid gland. Because the so-called inferior thyroid artery in Polyprotodonts has fewer relationships with the gland than in rats and humans, it is preferable to refer to it as the tracheo-oesophageal artery. The inferior thymic artery was constantly present in both groups. The middle thymic artery was rare, only appearing in 2 specimens of Dasyuroids. The supreme thymic, superior thymic (both abundant in rats and humans) and the middle thymothyroid (abundant in humans) arteries were absent. These results suggest that the arterial pattern of both organs in Perameloids is simpler than in Dasyuroids and that the pattern of the Polyprotodonts, as a whole, is simpler than in the rat or man.
对来自澳大利亚多门齿有袋动物9个物种的27个标本中的甲状腺和胸腺动脉进行了研究，这些动物分为2个超科，即袋鼬超科和袋狸超科。将结果与大鼠和人类的结果进行了比较。袋鼬类动物甲状腺上动脉的起源部位从颈外动脉到颈总动脉不等，而袋狸类动物则汇聚于颈外动脉和颈总动脉分叉处。甲状腺上动脉的走行表明它最初是咽动脉而非甲状腺动脉。由于多门齿有袋动物中所谓的甲状腺下动脉与腺体的关系比大鼠和人类中的少，因此最好将其称为气管食管动脉。两组中均恒定存在胸腺下动脉。胸腺中动脉很少见，仅在2个袋鼬类动物标本中出现。胸腺最上动脉、甲状腺上动脉（在大鼠和人类中均丰富）和甲状腺中动脉（在人类中丰富）均不存在。这些结果表明，袋狸类动物中这两个器官的动脉模式比袋鼬类动物的更简单，并且总体而言，多门齿有袋动物的模式比大鼠或人类的更简单。
