Visually Detectable Vertebral Malformations of a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in the Mississippi Sound

Abstract

, and the interns who assisted with data collection. We extend special thanks to veterinarian Debra Moore for offering helpful counsel during the assessment of the malformations observed, and Eric Pulis for providing constructive comments on previous drafts of this manuscript. All field research was conducted under NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service Permit GA LOC #18185. We would also like to thank the IMMS for funding these research efforts.

Two cases of malformations in bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821) in Aragua, Venezuela

“…Recently, also in Brazil, Costa et al (2016) described in detail a wide variety of bone malformations in both coastal and offshore ecotypes of bottlenose dolphins, including spinal deviations, extra-numerary joints, abnormal cervical fusion and neural arch clefting. Specific cases of scoliosis in dolphin species have been recorded in New Zealand and Iceland (Berghan and Visser, 2000), Scotland (Wilson et al, 1997) and USA (Ambert et al, 2017). The current study aims to describe for the first time in the Aragua state, Venezuela, two cases of bottlenose dolphins presenting conspicuous body deformities which, based on literature, are suggested to be cases of scoliosis.…”

Experimental animal models of scoliosis for understanding the etiology of idiopathic scoliosis

“…Однако деформации позвоночника (врожденный сколиоз, кифосколиоз и др.) наблюдаются у других видов позвоночных, в частности у четвероногих животных (мыши, кошки, собаки) и даже у водоплавающих (рыбы, киты) [9][10][11]. Разработка экспериментальной модели сколиоза на животных, по биомеханическим параметрам наиболее близкой к человеку, позволит исследовать генетические механизмы формирования патологии и обеспечит понимание развития заболевания у человека.…”