Path followed:
- Is the fault in the components that perform any physical action?
Answer: No
- Is the faulty component part of the mechanism’s body?
Answer: Yes
- Is the faulty component in the structure of the mechanism?
Answer: Yes
- Does the fault appear in components that provide rigidity to the mechanism?
Answer: Yes
- Can the faulty component be removed from the mechanism?
Answer: No
- Is the fault in load bearing components?
Answer: Yes
- Do multiple versions of the components exist for the faulty component?
Answer: No
- Can the mechanism continue to function until the component is replaced?
Answer: Yes
111) Eastern glass lizard, Ophisaurus ventralis
Eastern glass lizards can be found in the Southeastern states of the United States (ÒEastern Glass LizardÓ). They look like snakes but are indeed legless lizards. Eastern glass lizards have the ability of regenerating their tails if they were to get amputated or autotomized.
Soon after the tail has been severed from the body a wound epithelium forms over the stump from proliferated epithelial cells (Hutchins et al.). Underneath the epithelium other epithelial and endothelial cells begin to dedifferentiate and proliferate. Some of the endothelial cells form blood vessels which supply the newly regenerated epithelium with blood. The cells also differentiate into mesenchyme cells which form the ependymal from the spinal cord in the mesenchymal tissue (Alibardi). The mesenchyme cells would then re-differentiate into vascularized tissue, myofibers, cartilage tubes, and skeletal muscles (Alibardi). These would allow the tail to regenerate and grow longer. As the tail gets closer to completely regenerating the muscles would mature into myosin heavy chain positive skeletal muscles and strengthen the tail (Alibardi). Once the tail had been strengthened the cells would stop proliferating to make the tail longer and disperse away from the previously wounded area.
“Eastern Glass Lizard.” Species Profile: Eastern Glass Lizard. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, 2014. Web. 2 Jan. 2015.
http://srelherp.uga.edu/lizards/ophven.htm
Hutchins, Elizabeth D., Glenn J. Markov, Walter L. Eckalbar, Rajani M. George, Jesse M. King, Minami A. Tokuyama, Lauren A. Geiger, Nataliya Emmert, Michael J. Ammar, April N. Allen, Ashley L. Siniard, Jason J. Corneveaux, Rebecca E. Fisher, Juli Wade, Dale F. DeNardo, J. Alan Rawls, Matthew J. Huentelman, Jeanne Wilson-Rawls, and Kenro Kusumi. “Transcriptomic Analysis of Tail Regeneration in the Lizard Anolis Carolinensis Reveals Activation of Conserved Vertebrate Developmental and Repair Mechanisms.” PLoSONE (2014): n. pag. PLoSONE. Web. 2 Jan. 2015.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0105004
Alibardi, Lorenzo. Morphological and Cellular Aspects of Tail and Limb Regeneration in Lizards: A Model System with Implications for Tissue Regeneration in Mammals. Vol. 207. Heidelberg: Springer, 2010. Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and Cell Biology. Springer. Springer, 2014. Web. 2 Jan. 2015.
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