Path followed:
1. Is the fault in the components that perform any physical action?
Answer: Yes
2. Is the fault in components that move?
Answer: No
3. Is the fault in the mechanisms controls?
Answer: Yes
4. Is the fault in the components responsible for sending signals?
Answer: Yes
5. Is the fault only limited to non-sensory components?
Answer: Yes
6. Does the adaptation need to occur before deployment?
Answer: Yes
7. Is the fault comprised of several faults across the damaged component?
Answer: No
34) North American Opossum, Didelphia virginiana
North American Opossums are found on the North American continent. They are the only pouched mammal found in the United States and Canada (ÒOpossumsÓ). Neonatal opossums have the ability of regenerating their spinal cord if it was damaged in some way.
Soon after the spinal cord has been damaged signals are sent out to warrant help from the rest of the body. Microglial cells migrate to the wound site and start proliferating. They start to differentiate into structural cells and join together to form the missing spinal cord section. Microglial cells also differentiate into sensory fibers that will join together and reconnect the cord to the motoneurons (Mladinic et al.). The cells also differentiate into cells that will form the axons where the fibers connect the cord to the motoneurons (Mladinic et al.). Finally the microglial cells will differentiate into epithelial cells and form the tissue that surrounds the spinal cord and gives it support. When the spinal cord and neurons have been regenerated the cells will stop proliferating and will migrate away from the previously injured site.
“Opossums.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/opossum/
Mladinic, M., K. J. Muller, and J. G. Nicholls. “Central Nervous System Regeneration: From Leech to Opossum.” The Journal of Physiology 587.12 (2009): 2775-782. NCBI. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.
Recent Comments