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The anatomy of the stomatognathic system is important for both clinical evaluations and surgical approaches in all animal species. The aim of this study was to describe the innervation and vascularization of the stomatognathic system of the dog. Twelve dogs without a history of disease or cranial malformation were used: 4 brachycephalic, 4 mesocephalic, and 4 dolichocephalic. The dogs were dissected, and arteries, veins, and nerves related to the masticatory and swallowing components were identified. The distribution pattern of these structures in the 3 different skull types were observed. The entire blood supply of the stomatognathic system is derived from the external carotid artery, which originates from the common carotid artery, and terminates as it branches into the superficial temporal and maxillary arteries. The other main branches of the common carotid artery are the occipital, cranial laryngeal, ascending pharyngeal, lingual, facial, caudal auricular, and parotid arteries. Blood drainage was achieved via the external jugular vein, which originates from the union of the linguofacial and maxillary veins. Brachycephalic dogs had blood vessels with greater sinuosity (more deviations) when compared to dolichocephalic and mesocephalic dogs. The stomatognathic system innervation of brachycephalic skull dogs showed differences in the distribution of the facial nerve in the labial commissure and maxillary and mandibular regions. The cranial conformation of dogs demonstrated anatomical variations of the vascular and neural structures of the stomatognathic system. This data may be useful to improve clinical practice, surgical planning, and interpretation of clinical dysfunctions.

Racehorses are constantly exposed to stress. Aiming to verify the state of blood components and cortisol alterations during their routine and after races, phagocytosis and oxidative neutrophil burst assays, serum cortisol determination, erythrocytes apoptosis evaluation, lymphoproliferation assays, and blood count tests were performed in thirty Thoroughbred racehorses, which were divided in two groups. The samples were taken right after races (moment 0 d), during rest periods (−11 d, +1 d, +3 d), and after training (−8, +2, +5). In both groups, the phagocytosis showed a decrease in percentage and intensity immediately after the race when comparing samples collected during rest or training periods. In the mean values of oxidative burst on samples collected immediately after the race, group I animals demonstrated a decrease (524.2 ± 248.9) when compared with those samples collected in other moments. No significant differences were found between the results of different moments regarding the apoptotic cells and lymphoproliferation assays. The mean values of serum cortisol levels were increased immediately after racing. There was an increase in the percentage of neutrophils found immediately after the race. It was possible to conclude that, although a transient reduction was found in the number of neutrophils, the horses’ adaptive function was not affected.

Alpaca is a South American camelid, particularly present in Peruvian highlands, where oxygen concentration and atmospheric pressure are very low. Due to this fact, gestational physiology has adapted to preserve the conceptus’ and mother’s health. In this context, several cellular and molecular features play an essential role during and at the end of gestation. Structural carbohydrates act on maternal–fetal communication, recognize exogenous molecules, and contribute to placental barrier selectivity. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the structural carbohydrate profiles that are present in the term alpaca placenta, kept in their natural habitat of around 4,000 m height. For this propose, 12 term alpaca placentas were collected, and the material was obtained at the time of birth from camelids raised naturally in the Peruvian highlands, in the Cusco region. All placenta samples were processed for histological analysis. A lectin histochemical investigation was performed using 13 biotinylated lectins, allowing us to determine the location of carbohydrates and their intensity on a semi-quantitative scale. Our results demonstrated that during term gestation, the epitheliochorial alpaca placenta shows a high presence of carbohydrates, particularly glucose, α-linked mannose, N-acetylglucosamine β (GlcNAc), galactose (αGal), and N-acetylgalactosamine α (GalNAc), present in the trophoblast, amnion epithelium, and mesenchyme, as well as the presence of sialic acid residues and low affinity for fucose. In fetal blood capillaries, the presence of bi- and tri-antennary complex structures and α-linked mannose was predominated. In conclusion, we characterized the glycosylation profile in the term alpaca placenta. Based on our data, compared to those reported in the bibliography, we suggest that these carbohydrates could participate in the labor of these animals that survive in Peruvian extreme environments.

The hoary fox (Lycalopex vetulus, Lund, 1842) is the smallest Brazilian canid, whose weight varies between 2 and 4 kg, has a slender body, a small head, and a short and blackened snout. Despite being considered an endemic species, little is known about the hoary fox as it is one of the seven less studied canids in the world. Thus, this study aimed to describe the anatomy of the abdominal aorta artery of the hoary fox and to compare it with the pre-established literature data in domestic canids. For this purpose, we used two adult hoary foxes without definite age. We collected the corpses of these animals along roadsides of Catalão-GO, being later fixed and conserved in a 10% formalin solution. The results showed that the abdominal aorta in hoary fox is at the ventral face of the lumbar region vertebral bodies, being slightly displaced to the left of the median plane. The first branch is visceral, named celiac artery, followed by a paired parietal branch: the phrenic abdominal arteries. The third and fourth branches are the cranial mesenteric arteries and the rightand left are the renal arteries, respectively. The posterior branches of the renal arteries are equally visceral, paired, being called testicular arteries. Distal to the latter, both the caudal mesenteric artery and deep circumflex iliac arteries originate. Finally, two large external iliac arteries and its terminal branches composed of internal iliac arteries and the median sacral artery originate. In addition, five pairs of lumbar arteries originate alongside the abdominal segment of the aorta. Considering these findings, it is possible to conclude that despite the hoary fox being a wild animal, the anatomy of its abdominal aorta is very similar to that of domestic canids.

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Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is considered one of the largest and most beautiful canids in South America, inhabits the Cerrado biome, and presents nocturnal habits, especially during the twilight period. It is in danger of extinction, mainly due to anthropic activity in its habitat. What certainly raises the importance of studying and better understanding its biology. The mammalian Facial Nerve is the seventh cranial pair and controls the functions of facial expression muscles and others. Once the anatomical descriptions of this canid are scarce, this paper aimed to describe the anatomy of Facial n. in Maned Wolf and correlate it with that of domestic canids, a phylogenetically close species whose anatomy is well known. For this research, four adult specimens were used, whose carcasses were collected along highways in southeastern Goiás State - Brazil (SISBIO 37072-2), or donated by the Wildlife Screening Center (CETAS) in Catalão - Goiás State. The specimens were fixed in a 10% aqueous formalin solution and stored in the same solution. Dissection was performed by macroscopic anatomical methods. The research was carried out with a favorable opinion of the Animal Use Ethics Committee (CEUA) of the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) (under n° 067/12). Anatomical preparations of post-mortem Maned Wolf did not reveal the presence of Caudal Auricular, Internal Auricular, nor Stylohyoid n.. Small ramifications of Facial n. can be considered as collateral branches. The Facial n. emerged as a single trunk, Facial n. Trunk, which branches into Auriculopalpebral, Dorsal Buccal, and Ventral Buccal n..

Complex wounds in dogs are a recurrent problem in veterinary clinical application and can compromise skin healing; in this sense, tissue bioengineering focused on regenerative medicine can be a great ally. Decellularized and recellularized skin scaffolds are produced to be applied in different and complex canine dermal wounds in the present investigation. Dog skin fragments are immersed in a 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution at room temperature and overnight at 4 °C for 12 days. Decellularized samples are evaluated by histological analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gDNA quantification. Some fragments are also recellularized using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Eight adult dogs are divided into three groups for the application of the decellularized (Group I, n = 3) and recellularized scaffolds (Group II, n = 3) on injured areas, and a control group (Group III, n = 2). Wounds are evaluated and measured during healing, and comparisons among the three groups are described. In 30- and 60-day post-grafting, the histopathological analysis of patients from Groups I and II shows similar patterns, tissue architecture preservation, epithelial hyperplasia, hyperkeratosis, edema, and mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate. Perfect integration between scaffolds and wounds, without rejection or contamination, are observed in both treated groups. According to these results, decellularized skin grafts may constitute a potential innovative and functional tool to be adopted as a promising dog cutaneous wound treatment. This is the first study that applies decellularized and recellularized biological skin grafts to improve the healing process in several complex wounds in dogs, demonstrating great potential for regenerative veterinary medicine progress.