Accuracy and Reliability of Measurements Obtained from 3-Dimensional Rabbit Mandible Model: A Micro-Computed Tomography Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mandibular morphometric measurements of male and female rabbits using three-dimensional digital model and real bone measurements. Ten (5 female, 5 male) rabbits with no bone deformities were used in the study. Three-dimensional models were produced from two-dimensional microcomputed tomography images of the rabbit’s mandible. Biometric data were obtained by using the same measuring points over both three-dimensional models and real bone samples. There was only a significant main effect of gender for the greatest length of the mandible, length from aboral border of the alveolus of third molar teeth to infradentale, length of the diastema, height of the vertical ramus (measured in projection), distance from the incisor to the oral border of mental foramen, distance from aboral border of mental foramen to caudal border of mandible, distance between retroalveolar foramen and caudal border of mandible. For these measurements, calculated data for females are significantly higher than the males (p<0.05). It was found to be statistically significant between methods only for the length of the cheek tooth row and height of the vertical ramus values (p<0.05). In this study, it was understood that 3D morphometric measurements for bone tissue could be used with accuracy and reliability especially in anatomy and orthodontics areas as an alternative to traditional measurements made with a digital caliper.

Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences

“…The morphology of animal bones provides significant data for determining differences between genders and informing various studies such as forensic, developmental, and evolutionary sciences (Pitakarnnop et al 2017). In this respect, there are many studies that aim to examine differences between genders by using the measurements of the mandible in the fields of humanities (Rooppakhun et al 2010, Bejdová et al 2013) and veterinary sciences (Onar et al 1997, Ince Gezer et al 2010, Rooppakhun et al 2010, Akbulut et al 2014, Remzi et al 2019, Yilmaz and Demircioglu 2019. Particularly, for small animals such as cats and dogs, medical imaging methods such as CT and 3D modeling programs that have been developed thanks to current technological advancements are widely used in imaging the complex anatomical structure of the mandible and its surroundings, obtaining various osteometric and volumetric measurements, diagnosing malign or pathological structures in the area, and analyzing the efficiency of treatments for these structures (Ohlerth andScharf 2007, Moselhy andMahdy 2019).…”

“…In general, when osteometric measurements of the mandible in both humans and animals are compared, males are found to have higher levels than females (Onar et al 1997, Ince Gezer et al 2010, Rooppakhun et al 2010, Akbulut et al 2014, Pitakarnnop et al 2017, Remzi et al 2019, Yilmaz and Demircioglu 2019.…”