An un usual course of the Nervus Conarii in the pineal glandof the tinamid bird Crypturellus parvirostris. A case report

ABSTRACT

The pineal gland is innervated by postganglionic sympathetic nerves from the superior cervical ganglion. As theaxons enter the gland, they synapse with the pinealocytes. In this report, we describe a case in which the conarii nervewas observed crossing the distal portion of the ascending branch of the venous sinus, thus penetrating the capsule ofthe pineal gland. The nerve observed consisted of a bundle of unmyelinated axons and collagen fibers which aresurrounded by endothelial cells. This is the first report of a completely engulfed and detached conarii nerve within avenous sinus.