Comparative Imaging Anatomical Study of the Heart and Selected Mediastinal Vessels in the Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Abstract

The aim of the study was to prove analogy of the results from ultrasonographic, computed tomographic and post mortem transverse study of the rabbit heart and select mediastinal vessels. Ten sexually mature, healthy New Zealand White rabbits, aged 12 months, with a body weight of 2.8 kg to 3.2 kg were investigated. Two -dimensional transthoracic echocardiography was performed in right and left lateral recumbency. The transducer was placed on the thorax for imaging the heart in standard planes (short and long axis). Transverse computed tomography of the thorax was carried out before and after intravenous contrast administration. The animals were positioned in ventrodorsal recumbency. The post mortem transverse frozen cuts of the thorax were 10 mm thick. By the ultrasonographic study the centrally situated hypoechoic lumen of the ascending aorta was found. The hypoechoic left and right atria (proventricles), parts of the right ventricle and pulmonary ostium with the pulmonary valve were visualized peripherally. The entire heart silhouette was observed via computed tomography. The atrioventricular septum was seen as a hypo attenuating structure. The heart ventricles, atria, ascending and descending aorta, esophagus and trachea were visualized. The four heart cavities and major vessels were marked by the post mortem transverse frozen study. The comparative analysis of the data from the ultrasonographic, computed tomographic and post mortem transverse frozen study of the rabbit heart and its mediastinal vessels showed that the results could be applied in the interpretation and diagnosis of the heart and vascular lesions in this species.

Comparative Anatomical Study of Kidney in adult Male Squirrel (Sciurus anomalus) and Mice (Mus musculus)

“…The left kidney was in squirrel longer and thicker than right kidney in mice was reversible and in both animal the left kidney more distant from the median plane than the right but the left kidney in squirrel was larger than right kidney, the value in this study were also similar to those results of (18) in jerboa and (21) in rabbit who registed the left kidney weight and dimensions more than right kidney but unlike result in albino rat (22) , house mice (6) , desert rodents (20,23) , guina pig (17) , and rabbit (24) .…”

“…The presence of large amount of fat tissue surrounding both kidneys are act as a good insulator and one of fixatives of kidney in its position. Shape of kidneys in squirrel appeared semi bean, but in mice the shape was typical bean like structure, and in both animals kidneys smooth surface without any lobulation and fissured, these results was fit to result of (25) in pig kidney shape appeared as bean, the dorsal and ventral surfaces are flat, and the cranial and caudal poles (18) In jerboa, (26;27) dog ,sheep, cattle (26;27) , and camel (28) , spotted deer (29) , and musk deer (30) which showed that the kidney is firm, reddish -brown in color and disagree with (31) who mentioned that the kidney of buffalo was irregular oval in shape, solid in texture; red-brown in color like of (32) in camel .and disagree but only corresponding in color to the mice (mus musculus) but agreed with (4) and ( 6), (21) , rabbit (oryctologus cuniculus) (30) , fat sand rat and jerboa (17) (20) , and house mice (6) who mentioned normal texture and dark red bodies.…”

Computed tomography and three dimensional anatomical study of the liver in the chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera)

“…This made the results of the CT scans and the 3D reconstructions more accurate. That differs from the protocols for the cat (Samii et al, 1998) and for the rabbit (Dimitrov et al, 2012;Stamatova-Yovcheva et al, 2012).…”

“…The CT protocol, regarding the dorsal position of the investigated animals, is similar to that applied in the cat (Samii et al, 1998) and in the rabbit (Dimitrov et al, 2012;Stamatova-Yovcheva et al, 2012).…”

“…The CT protocol, regarding the dorsal position of the investigated animals, is similar to that applied in the cat (Samii et al., 1998) and in the rabbit (Dimitrov et al., 2012; Stamatova‐Yovcheva et al., 2012). That being said, we used a protocol that affirm the CT images should be interpreted as showing that the researcher stood in the same place as the structures being studied.…”