Analyzing the 3D Structure of the Spiral Intestine of a cartilaginous fish

Leucoraja erinacea, or little skate fish, is an organism that has spiral intestines. The spiral structure of the intestines of skate fish allows for more surface area in an enclosed, small volume. Studying the developmental stages and the formation of the spiral intestine may shed light on the influence of surface area to volume ratio, in the absorption of food in the intestines. This research project focused on defining the progressive turns of the spiral and the distance between the turns, or pitch, during development. Using microCT-scanned images of developing embryos and the software programs CTan and CTvol, I analyzed the dorsal and ventral pitches of the spiral from stages 25 to 32 of skate development. In addition, the 3-D analysis program Cloudcompare was used to reshape and edit the spiral. 3D models of the volumetric structure of the skate’s intestines were printed with resin and propenoic acid/acrylate using in the Stratasys (Connex 500). Understanding and characterizing the features of the spiral will help us understand the forces involved in generating the turns that lead to the spiral formation in the skate intestine.