Fig. 5

Transverse sections (a-c, e and f) and 3D reconstructions (d and f) of the mushroom body cartilage in the grass snake embryos at different developmental stages. a The condensed mesenchymal cell (dashed line) at developmental stage IV. b The condensed mesenchymal cell (dashed line) at developmental stage V. c The cartilage of the mushroom body at the end of developmental stage VI. d The dorsal aspect of the mushroom body cartilage and associated cartilages (purple) at developmental stage VI. Note that the vomeronasal organ (blue) is transparent to show the mushroom body. e The cartilage of the mushroom body at developmental stage VIII. f The dorsal aspect of the mushroom body cartilage and associated cartilages at developmental stage VIII. Short arrow indicates the conical process of the mushroom body cartilage. The colours of the structures and transparency are the same as in d. g The cartilage of the mushroom body at developmental stage XI. Abbreviations: A anterior, CMB cartilage of the mushroom body, DV duct of the vomeronasal organ, EC ectochoanal cartilage, HC hypochoanal cartilage, L lateral, LTA lamina transversalis anterior, LV lumen of the vomeronasal organ, M medial, MB mushroom body, P posterior, SE sensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ, VC vomerine concha. Scale bars 50 μm (c, e, g); 20 μm (a and b). 3D reconstructions are not scaled