W4 Skeletal Comparative Anatomy

Rabbit

Light skeletal system 6-7% body weight therefore prone to fractures especially of spine and hindlimbs due to powerful musculature of hind limbs and kicking out

Rabbit skull

Mandible (lower jaw) narrower than maxilla.

Temperomandibular joint wide SA allowing lateral movement of mandible relation to maxilla

Rabbit axial skeleton

Cervical vertebrae box-like and small, great mobility

Thoracic vertebrae 12 paired ribs

Pelvis narrow, vertical

Rabbit appendicular skeleton

Ulna fuses to radius

flatter femur and tibia + fibula fused

Prominent calcaeneous of tarsal bone

Reptiles

Reliant on appropriate environmental and nutritional provision

Lizards

Ribs attached to all vertebrae apart from coccygeal

Chelonia endoskeleton

Appendicular skeleton (limb bones, girdles) and axial skeleton (ribs, vertebrae and skull)

Chelonia exoskeleton

(shell) bony plates, evolved from modified ribs. plastron (lower portion) and carapace (upper portion), bony plates interlocking along suture-line joints

Outer periosteum keratin layer. Covers bone in overlapping scute pattern, shed as turtle grows

Scutes

Scute of carapace and plastron named - anatomical landmarks

Important indicator of skeletal health, deformities and changes in firmness of shell seen as result of metabolic bone disease (MBD)

Metabolic bone disease

Lack of calcium, phosphorus imbalance, insufficient vitamin D3

Signs: tremors, soft jaw, lethargy, under weight

Diagnostics: visible symptoms, husbandry evaluation, radiography, bloods

Treatment: Calcium, pain meds, environment/diet change

Secondary hyperparathyroidism

Lack of calcium/potassium

Overactive parathyroid gland

Calcium/Vitamin D supplement

Bone cancers e.g. osteosarcoma

Long bones to joints commonly affect

Potential metastasis

Treatment: Amputation, chemotherapy, radiation therapy

Handling - cytotoxic waste

Palliative care - pain meds, nutritious diet