ABSTRACT
There has been a recent increase in the use of trained dogs in animal-assisted therapy programmes. This morphological study uses the Nigerian local dog as a prototype dolichocephalic to determine rostrofacial parameters which are of clinical and anesthesiological importance in veterinary oral surgery and intervention. Sixteen Nigerian local dog skulls of both sexes (seven males and nine females) were used. The females were observed to have higher values for most of the parameters measured. Statistically significant difference (P<0.05) was only observed in one parameter, distance between the mandibular foramen and the caudal border of the mandible, with the female value being higher. The length of the mandible from the most rostral point of the dental bone to the most caudal projection of the coronoid process (MDL-1) showed a positive correlation to the parameters depicting height, width and length of the mandible. Results obtained from this study will find application in veterinary comparative anatomy and in clinical application in oral and maxillofacial surgery and anaesthesia, especially in regions where the dental x-ray is not readily available.
Se ha observado un reciente aumento en el uso de perros entrenados en los programas de terapia asistida con animales. Este estudio morfológico utiliza el perro local de Nigeria como prototipo dolicocéfalo para determinar los parámetros rostrofaciales, de importancia clínica en la intervención quirúrgica y asistencia anestesiológica oral en veterinaria. Se utilizaron 16 cráneos de perros de ambos sexos (siete machos y nueve hembras). Se observó que las hembras tenían valores más altos para la mayoría de los parámetros medidos. Una diferencia estadísticamente significativa (P<0,05 ) sólo se observó en un parámetro, la distancia entre el foramen mandibular y el margen caudal de la mandíbula, donde las hembras registraron el valor más alto. La longitud de la mandíbula desde el punto del hueso dental más rostral, a la proyección caudal del proceso coronoides mandibular mostró una correlación positiva para los parámetros de altura, ancho y longitud mandibular. Los resultados obtenidos pueden ser aplicados en anatomía veterinaria, así como en clínica para cirugía oral, maxilofacial y el uso de anestesia, especialmente en lugares o situaciones donde la radiografía dental no siempre está al alcance.
Subject(s)
Animals , Male , Female , Dogs , Skull/anatomy & histology , Dogs/anatomy & histology , Cephalometry , Anesthesia, Conduction , NigeriaABSTRACT
This study investigates the morphometry of two sense organs, the eyeball and tongue, of the Nigerian local dog (11 males, 14 females), all aged 2 years and above. The samples were grouped according to gender and weight (up to 12 kg or above that weight). The average values obtained for the weights of the left and right eyeballs and the tongue were 3.77 +/- 0.51 g, 3.68 +/- 0.74 g and 2.96 +/- 0.38 g respectively, while the length of the tongue, its thickness and width at the root and apex were 14.20 +/- 2.29 cm, 0.87 +/- 0.30 cm, and 0.21 +/- 0.05 cm respectively. The circumferences of the eyeballs (antero-posterior, mediolateral and peri-orbital) were all found to be higher in females, except the antero-posterior circumference of left eye, in spite of heavier eyeballs in males. Also, the females showed a wider rima oris and higher values for most of the tongue measurements. A positive correlation existed between the weight of the animal and that of the head and tongue, while a negative correlation was observed between the body weight and the weight of the eyeballs. This report highlights the presence of sexual dimorphism and mild lateral asymmetry in this rarely reported breed of dog. The data obtained from this study may find application in feeding physiology, ophthalmic clinical manipulations and comparative anatomy.
