Rabbits Flashcards
State some features of normal rabbit head anatomy and reasons why these benefit the animal
Large pinnae- good for sound tunnels and thermoreg
They have central Auricular veins and marginal veins on their ears
Large lateral protuberant eyes- wide field (both above good as prey species)
Cleft lip
They have a well developed 3rd eyelid and harderian gland which produces a lipid component- these things allow the rabbit not to blink for a long time
They have a large retrobulbar venous plexus outside Extraocular mus
There teeth continous grow
They have lots of tissue in cheeks
How do the feature in the head predispose to problems
The large retrobulbar venous plexus needs to be avoided when doing an enucleation. It also causes eyes to push out if BP is too high.
The fact that the eyes are protuberant gives a risk to trauma
Continuously growing teeth/tooth root issues close to nasolacrimal duct and the eyes means risk of infection and injury. Dental disease is also very common due to overgrowth.
How could you flush the nasolacrimal duct
Via star shaped lacrimal punctum
What does merangiotic retina mean?
BVs in one region only
They are horizontal running in the rabbit
Are the rabbits Extraocular muscles the same as the dog
No they have an extra one. The depressor palpebrae
Which Extraocular muscle can be easily located and help you to stabilise the eye during surgery
Rectus dorsalis
Which vein drains the eye
If this is ligated by accident what could this cause?
Jugular vein
Exophthalmos= abnormal eyeball protrusion
Give the dental formula of a rabbit
I2/2, c0/0, pm3/2, m3/3
The second lot of incisors are called peg teeth
Give 3 words used to describe rabbit teeth
Aradicular Hyposodont (crown longer) Elodont (cont growing)
Describe the respiratory system of the rabbit
They are obligate nasal breathers
They have a long tongue, small glottis, and large cheeks
They are prone to laryngeal spasm (sens to irritants)
They have a small thoracic cavity compared to the size of the abdominal cavity
They have high chest wall compliance
They have a low functional residual capacity (little air in lungs at end of expiration)
There diaphragm controls breathing
They have 3 lobes on the left (compared to rodents-1,ferrets-2)
They have 4 on the right (same as most rodents and ferrets)
Describe the rabbits cardiovascular system
They have a very high HR 150-300bpm
BP=90-135mmHg
Total blood vol= 50-75ml
They have little collateral circulation- this means if the coronary arteries or cerebral arteries (to brain) are blocked then there’s no other means of getting blood there. Damage/ligation/repeat catheterisation causes exophthalmos
The jugular has no anastomoses to the internal jugular like in the dog. Remember the jugular drains the head including the eye
Blood from: marginal ear vein, Cephalic, jugular, saphenous
Ferrets have 5 pairs of salivary glands, how many does a rabbit have?
4 pairs = parotid, sublingual, zygomatic and mandibular. They have NO molar.
They release salivary amylase in response to food in their mouth
What kind of muscle is the rabbits oesph made from?
All striated muscle!!!
Same as dogs, cattle and sheep
Cats horses and humans have striated cranially and smooth caudally!!!
How do rabbits differ from a horse in terms of GI? Even though they are both hindgut fermenters!
The rabbits DOES have a gall bladder, the horse doesn’t
Describe the anatomy of the rabbit GI tract
Oral cavity grinding cheek teeth and large tongue allows all food to be masticated before swallowed , 3 layers of striated muscle oesphag, well developed cardiac sphincter so NO vomitting (cf ferrets who can), large J shaped stomach, small intestine, ileocolic valve known as sacculus rotundus (caceal tonsil) before HUGE caecum (blind ended sac with vermiform appendage), into colon.
Why is fibre essential?
For gut and dental health
Rabbits will select concentrate instead (
What is the pH of the rabbits stomach and SI, what does this mean?
1-2
Means practically sterile
What happens with neonates in terms of developing this pH?
Neonates have a pH of about 5-6.5
Milk oil is produced between 0-6 weeks which acidifies the stomach contents and prevents bacterial growth. When the neonate starts to eat caecotrophs, the hindgut begins to get populated with Normal flora (from 2 weeks)
What enzyme does the SI secreted and what does this do..
It secretes motilin
This stimulates motility in the small intestine, colon and rectum
What reduces this secretion?
What increases it.,
High carbohydrates reduces
High fats increases
Describe the rabbit colon
The proximal colon is roughly 50cm. It has 3 subsections. The first section has 3 haustra and taeniae. The second section has 1 haustrum 1 taeniae. The final section is called the fusus coli. This section has no haustrae. The final part regulates passage of food into the distal colon. It therefore separates soft and hard faeces.
The distal colon has no sacculations and is very long (around 90cm)
Describe hindgut fermentation in the rabbit
In the caecum, microorganisms particularly bacteriodes spp. Perform fermentation and produce VFAs.
These absorb across the caecal wall.
The bacteria proliferate in the caecum. The bacteria themselves are a vital source of protein.
Caecal contents are expelled as caecotrophs and are eaten from the anus.
The caecotrophs are protected from the stomach acid by a mucus layer.
The protein (bacteria)can then be absorbed in the SI
