Technical note: equine skeletal preservation techniques to enhance teaching effectiveness1

Abstract

When the decision was made to euthanatize an acutely laminitic Thoroughbred broodmare, graduate students from the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry reconstructed the skeleton for use as a teaching tool. The reproductive and gastrointestinal tracts were removed and preserved in formalin. The hide, muscle, tendons, ligaments, and organs were removed, and the bones were boiled in water for > or = 48 h to remove all remaining tissue. After boiling, the bones were soaked in gasoline to remove fat from the marrow cavities and then soaked in a bleach/detergent mixture as a final cleaning step. The bones were allowed to dry for several weeks, then a semi-gloss clear lacquer was applied to aid in preservation. The bones were connected with 17-gauge wire and supported by two 1.91-cm galvanized steel rods on a mobile platform. The vertebral column was aligned on flexible copper tube with a 1.27-cm diameter. Additional support was provided for the head and neck by aluminum and steel rods extending from the front support. The final product is a complete, mobile skeleton that will be used as a teaching aid in equine classes. The skeleton serves a function for all levels of the cognitive learning domain. Examples of applications include memorization, identification, and location of bones; use in case studies for synthesis and demonstration of brainstorming efforts; and evaluation of joint ailments for more advanced levels of learning.

Skeletal Preservation Techniques to Enhance Veterinary Anatomy Teaching

“…Large animals bone required more time (maximum 8 hours) as compared to small animal bones (maximum 4 hours). Greene et al (1993) in his project boiled the bones of horse for 48-72 hours which is too much time consumed for boiling process. This might be due to low intensity of heat applied through gas burner.…”

“…However, to avoid irritation from fumes the container should be kept closed with a lid. Gasoline can also be used as a degreasing agent Greene et al (1993). It is readily available but disadvantage of using this agent is its high cost and highly inflammable nature (3).…”

“…Gasoline can also be used as a degreasing agent Greene et al (1993). It is readily available but disadvantage of using this agent is its high cost and highly inflammable nature (3). Benzene or trichlorethylene is excellent degreasing agent for bones (4) but it is expensive and special care must be taken to ensure that adequate safety measures are available.…”

“…Visual aids such as a skeleton give students a "hands-on" method for learning bone names and locations, as well as a visual tool to relate bone and joint structure to muscle structure. (3).The literature regarding animal preservation techniques is inadequate and a very limited amount of data is available to the veterinary institutions through online searches. Skeletal preservation at Department of Anatomy and Histology is usually carried out by boiling the bones without performing the steps of degreasing and bleaching.…”

A Simple Method for Clearing and Staining Specimens for The Demonstration of Animal Skeleton

“…Exposing scientific processes to young persons will develop positive attitudes towards science (Eshach & Fried, 2005;Appleton, 2008). Greene et al (1993) stated that real specimens are very important in many aspects of cognitive learning in the classroom.…”