Morphometric studies of some visceral organs and gastrointestinal tract of four-toed african hedgehog (atelerix albiventris)

Abstract

Introductions: Morphometric studies were carried out on some visceral organs and gastrointestinal tract of African four-toed hedgehogs found in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Twelve (12) healthy adult hedgehogs, (6 male and 6 females) were used. The overall mean body weight was 239.5±28.3 g, and was statistically not significant (p > 0.05) between the sexes. The absolute (g) and relative (%) values for nearly all the visceral organs measured were consistently higher in the female, but were statistically not significant (p > 0.05) between the sexes. Results: The gastrointestinal tract morphology was simple, and lacks ceca. The overall mean length of the greater curvature of the stomach was 7.42±0.95 cm, with females (8.17±1.14 cm) having significantly higher values (p < 0.05) than (6.67±0.75 cm) observed in the males. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study will be useful in comparative anatomical studies, and as basic research data in varied ield of zoology and veterinary sciences.

Comparative Investigation of Tongue and Esophagus Morphometry in Swiss Albino and Balb-c Mice

“…Basic data on organ and body morphometrics in living organisms constitute a vital source of information in various fields of veterinary medicine and biological sciences (Gangrade, 2009). Drug interactions in animal experiments conducted in various ways can be inferred from morphometric data of organs (Gırgırı et al, 2015). While morphological changes in organs may sometimes not be visibly apparent (Bailey et al, 2004), deviations from normal morphometric values can indicate an underlying pathological condition in some cases (Tanna et al, 2011).…”

“…While morphological changes in organs may sometimes not be visibly apparent (Bailey et al, 2004), deviations from normal morphometric values can indicate an underlying pathological condition in some cases (Tanna et al, 2011). Among mammals, there is significant diversity in morphological and morphometric characteristics of the gastrointestinal system, including shape and structure, in animals fed various diets (Gırgırı et al, 2015). In this study, morphometric measurement values of the tongue and esophagus in Swiss Albino and Balb-c mice were obtained, correlations between body weight and morphometric measurements according to gender were determined, and differences in these measurements regarding sexual dimorphism were evaluated.…”

“…In general, numerous studies have been conducted to determine the anatomical, morphological, and morphometric characteristics of the other digestive system organs, including the tongue and esophagus concerning sexual dimorphism in other animals as well as laboratory animals (Yıldız et al, 2001;Walters et al, 2014;Igado et al, 2015;Gırgırı et al, 2015;Sahd et al, 2017;Bełżecki et al, 2018;Jaji et al, 2019;Ayırtır Başdinç, 2023;Andrade et al, 2023). When examining the morphometric measurement values in our study, it was seen that all measurement values obtained from both Swiss Albino and Balb-c mice were higher in males compared to females.…”

Gross Morphology of the Brain and Spinal Cord of the African Pygmy Hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris)

“…They are terrestrial and placental mammals, nocturnally active and classified as "least concern" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their occurrence is widespread in Africa, they can be found in human habitation and are sexually dimorphic [6,10]. The hedgehogs are an important group of insectivores, they have relatively small brains with little neocortex, and for some decades have been employed to better understand the initial stages of the brain evolution of mammals [4].…”