Morphology of the thoracic limb bones in the giant anteater. The giant anteater has a grayish-brown pelage with white and black tones, its skull is elongated, cylindrical, and there are no teeth. Its tail is long, with thick and long bristles, resembling a flag. This is an endangered species, due to the constant degradation of its habitat, in addition to deaths caused by fires and roadkills. Thus, this paper aimed to describe the morphology of the thoracic limb bones in Myrmecophaga tridactyla, focusing on its main bone accidents. We used two specimens of giant anteater collected on highways in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, after death due to being run over. The scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, and the hand bones showed particular characteristics adapted to the species' lifestyle and habits. In general, the scapula resembles that in human beings and the humerus is similar to that in armadillo, the radius and ulna exhibit articular surfaces which enable a wide range of rotational movements in the forearm, the carpal bones are also similar in number and shape to those in human beings, and the fingers are well developed in the giant anteater, having long, strong and sharp claws, especially in the third finger. Thus, the anatomical description of the thoracic limb bones in the giant anteater showed to be important, providing a deeper understanding both of the functional aspects of the thoracic limb and the comparative anatomy of wild animals.

Submetido em 24/08/2014 Aceito para publicação em 23/03/2015 Resumo O quati (Nasua nasua) é uma espécie de ampla distribuição na América do Sul, inclusive no Brasil. O objetivo deste estudo foi observar e descrever a morfologia da ramiicação dos principais ramos arteriais das aortas torácica e abdominal do quati, comparando os achados com a literatura existente sobre as demais espécies domésticas e silvestres. Para este estudo foram utilizados dois exemplares machos adultos da espécie, coletados em rodovias do estado de Minas Gerais, mortos por atropelamento. Os espécimes foram ixados em solução formalina e tiveram os ramos aórticos preenchidos com látex para posterior dissecação e estudo. Observouse que a artéria subclávia esquerda é ramo direto do arco aórtico, não há formação de um tronco bicarotídeo nem de um tronco celíacomesentérico, fatos descritos de forma semelhante nos carnívoros domésticos. Dessa forma, notou-se que as ramiicações dos ramos arteriais da aorta do quati, tanto na cavidade torácica quanto abdominal, seguem uma distribuição muito semelhante à observada nos carnívoros domésticos, o que relete sua proximidade evolutiva dentro da ordem Carnivora. Com isso, esse estudo mostrou-se importante por aprofundar o conhecimento anatômico dessa espécie silvestre, permitindo que aspectos já conhecidos da medicina de cães sejam aplicados ao quati.

Horses are highly susceptible to parasitism. Helminth infections cause great harm to the animals and to their breeders. This study aimed at evaluating socioeconomic, cultural and management factors associated with the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths of horses. A total of 40 farmas the Mangalarga Marchador horse breed were visited in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil, where interviews were conducted. Horse feces were collected on the farms and coproparasitological laboratory tests were conducted to quantify the infection and to identify parasites. Data were tabulated in Epidata and analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 software. A great similarity between breeds was observed, specifically in their profiles, as well as in their animal management techniques and in their parasite control habits. The cyathostome was the most prevalent helminth, followed by Oxyuris and large strongyles. The farms which prioritize only equine production are less likely to have animals with massive helminth infection.

The optimised use of mixed crude glycerin (MCG) and ractopamine hydrochloride (RH) in diets for finishing pigs requires a better understanding of glycerol metabolism. Therefore, the present study evaluated the performance, blood parameters, metabolite concentrations in the Longissimus lumborum muscle and the activity of enzymes in the liver, subcutaneous adipose tissue and kidney of pigs fed diets containing MCG and/or RH. According to the initial weight, 64 barrows were distributed in a 4 × 2 factorial design, corresponding to four concentrations of MCG (0, 100, 150, and 200 g/kg) in diets containing 0 or 10 mg/kg of RH. There was no MCG × RH interaction for any of the evaluated parameters (P > 0.05). Moreover, there was no isolated effect of dietary MCG or RH on the weight gain and the blood concentrations of glucose, insulin, triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, total protein, albumin, creatinine, cortisol and lactate (P > 0.05). There was a higher rate of phosphorylation of glycerol in the liver, stimulation of lipogenesis in adipose tissue and a likely increase in the utilisation of glycerol by muscle fibres in response to an increased concentration of circulating glycerol from the diet (P < 0.05). In contrast, when the diet contained up to 200 g/kg MCG and 10 mg/kg RH, there were indications of a lower utilisation of glycerol for the synthesis of triacylglycerols in muscle, liver and adipose tissue, in addition to increased oxidation of amino acids in the liver followed by improved feed conversion of pigs (P < 0.05).

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