Comparative Gross Morphology and Morphometry Study of Pancreas in Persian Cats (Felis catus) and French Lop Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Nabaa Luay Ali Alsarhan
Department of anatomy and histology, collage of veterinary medicine, Al-Qasim green university, 51013, Babylon, Iraq.
Mustafa Fadhil
*
Department of anatomy and histology, collage of veterinary medicine, Al-Qasim green university, 51013, Babylon, Iraq.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Comparative anatomical studies of the pancreas provide important baseline information for understanding species-specific differences in digestive physiology, clinical diagnosis, and surgical approaches in veterinary medicine. Since carnivorous and herbivorous animals exhibit marked variations in pancreatic organization and topographical relationships, studying the pancreas in Persian cats and French Lop rabbits contributes to comparative veterinary anatomy and functional morphology. The purpose of the current research work was to characterize the gross anatomy and morphometry of the pancreas of Persian cats (Felis catus) and French Lop rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). For the study, five healthy adult animal from each species were used. Induction of general anesthesia was performed using the intramuscular administration of xylazine and ketamine: were cat received xylazine at 1 mg/kg and ketamine at 10 mg/kg, where rabbits received at xylazine 5 mg/kg and ketamine at 35 mg/kg. The abdomen of the animals was opened via midline laparotomy, and the Pancras was analyzed with respect to gross anatomy and morphometry. The pancreas was located in the cranial part of the abdomen and exhibited significant associations with the stomach, duodenum, spleen, and other organs in the abdomen. The pancreas of the Persian cat had a compact, well-defined lobulated appearance, which consisted of two lobes – the right and left lobes that were connected by a central portion representing the pancreatic body near the pylorus of the stomach. The right lobe was closely associated with the duodenum while the left lobe was found to extend towards the greater curvature of the stomach and the spleen. The pancreas of the rabbit had a non-compact appearance and was characterized by thin, flattened, scattered diffuse glandular tissues spread within the mesentery that were mostly associated with the duodenum, stomach and spleen. The surface of the pancreas was smooth, soft, and pinkish in appearance. In view of morphometric analysis results, the presence of greater length in the right pancreatic lobe was found in both Persian cats and rabbits in comparison with the left lobe, while the left lobe was relatively wider. The pancreas in Persian cats exhibited an organized form, consisting of right and left pancreatic lobes united by a pancreatic body, being the typical form of the compact pancreas in carnivores. On the other hand, the pancreas in rabbits had a diffuse mesenteric appearance without an organized compact structure present in Persian cats.
Keywords: Pancreas, Persian cats, French lop rabbits, gross anatomy, morphometry, comparative anatomy