Skeletopy of the medullary cone in Sapajus apella: Clinical implications in epidural anesthesia

Abstract

This work aimed to describe the skeletopy of the medullary cone of the capuchin monkey (Sapajus apella) and to lay morphological foundations to propose a route of administration for epidural anesthesia. We used five females adults S. apella, and dissected them to study their medullary cone. The fixated animals were dissected, a skin incision was made from the dorsal median line, epaxial musculature and vertebral arcs was removed to expose the spinal cord, individualizing the medullary cone and the lumbar intumescence. The base of S. apella medullary cone was located near the L5 vertebra and the apex near S3, the structure was 4.5 cm in average. The evaluated specimens presented five lumbar and four sacral vertebrae. We concluded that the positioning of S. apella medullary cone is caudally than in other species, suggesting that the most appropriate location for epidural anesthetic procedures is the sacrocaudal region.