Applied Anatomy of the Rabbit's Skull and its Clinical Application During Regional Anesthesia

摘要

Rabbit is used for many purposes including as an animal model in a variety of biomedical researchfields and also for meat and fur production. On the other hand, there has recently been a marked increase in itspopularity as a companion animal and it has become the third most popular mammalian pet in the UnitedKingdom after the dog and cat. Since, there is a lack of information on anatomical measurements of the skullsof rabbits and its clinical value during regional anesthesia; the present work was taken. The investigation wascarried out on the eleven adult New Zealand white rabbits older than two year without any apparent skeletaldisorders. Then, a total of seventeen skull measurements and indices were recorded. In the present study, theskull length, cranial length, nasal length and cranial width of the adult rabbits were 9.41 cm, 6.11 cm, 3.29 cm and3.12 cm respectively. Also, the cranial index was 50.81. In addition, the distances from the root of premolar toothto infra-orbital canal and from the latter to the root of the incisors teeth were 0.57 cm and 3.37 cm, respectively.The length and height of the mandibles of the adult rabbits were 7.5 cm and 2.93 cm, respectively. Furthermore,the distances from the lateral alveolar root to mental foramen and from the mental foramen to caudal mandibularborder were 1.89 cm and 5.3 cm, respectively. In the current work, the distances from mandibular foramen to thebase of mandible as well as from caudal border of mandible to below of the mandibular foramen were 0.87 cmand 1.78 cm, respectively. Also, the distances from the base of mandible to condyloid process and from thelatter to the maximum height of mandible were 2.58 cm and 0.33 cm, respectively. Finally, the distance fromcaudal border of mandible to mandibular foramen and from the latter to mandibular angle were 1.51 cm and 0.67cm, respectively. These data as important landmarks are discussed with regard to their application to clinicalmaneuvers around the head of the rabbits such as regional anesthesia during treating head injury and dentalextraction.