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Brazilian Journal of Biological Sciences, 2018, v. 5, No. 11, p. 773-779.
ISSN 2358-2731
https://doi.org/10.21472/bjbs.051115
ISSN 2358-2731/BJBS-2018-0078/5/11/15/773
Braz. J. Biol. Sci.
http://revista.rebibio.net
Description of the terminal branches of the
abdominal aorta in capybaras Hydrochoerus
hydrochaeris Linnaeus, 1766 (Mammalia:
Rodentia)
Erick E. Silveira¹,*, Caio Biasi², Amilton Cesar Santos¹, Helton
Carlos Sabino Pereira¹, Helen Abud¹, Antonio Lisboa Neto¹, João
Marcos Leite¹ and Antonio Chaves Assis Neto¹
¹School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. University of São Paulo. Av.
Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, S/Nº. São Paulo-SP, Brazil (CEP 05508-270).
²Department of Anatomy. Patology and Veterinary Clinics. School of Veterinary
Medicine and Animal Science. Federal University of Bahia. Rua Augusto Viana,
S/Nº. Palácio da Reitoria. Canela. Salvador-BA, Brazil (CEP 40110-909).
Abstract. The capybara Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris Linnaeus,
1766 (Mammalia: Rodentia) is the largest rodent in the world,
with great economic potential. Exceeding 80 kg, the animal
always lives close to water bodies and its hierarchical flocks
have
a single dominant male. Current study analyzes the
structure and positioning of the terminal branches of the
capybara’
s abdominal aorta to identify clinical pathologies,
surgical and radiological procedures, and to contribute towards
the knowledge of the rodent’
s anatomy. The abdominal aorta
and its final branches (internal iliac artery, external iliac artery
and median sacral artery) of six animals were dissected. Results
showed that the organs were very similar to those registered in
the literature for other species of rodents.
Keywords: External iliac artery; Internal iliac artery; Median
sacral artery.
Received
September 4, 2018
Accepted
November 23, 2018
Released
December 31, 2018
Full Text Article
0000-0001-6755-0064
Erick E. Silveira
0000-0001-7476-2583
Caio Biasi
0000-0002-0132-6198
Amilton Cesar Santos
0000-0002-2158-0513
Helton Carlos Sabino
Pereira
0000-0002-0664-7177
Helen Abud
774
Silveira et al.
Braz. J. Biol. Sci., 2018, v. 5, No. 11, p. 773-779.
0000-0002-5914-7491
Antonio Lisboa Neto
0000-0001-5654-9105
João Marcos Leite
0000-0002-6260-661X
Antonio Chaves Assis
Neto
Introduction
The capybara Hydrochoerus
hydrochaeris Linnaeus, 1766 (Mammalia:
Rodentia) is the biggest rodent on the
planet. It is distributed throughout
Central and South America (Adrian and
Sachser, 2011). The animals live in
hierarchical herds where a single male is
dominant. The latter is responsible for
most cross breeding (Paula et al., 2002).
Body weight may exceed 80 kg and the
male adults have a gland in the brain for
the marking of territory (Madella et al.,
2006). Water is a must since it is used for
haven, copulation and thermal
regulation. In fact, they never distance
themselves more than 500 m from any
water body (Rocha et al., 2017). The
animals are herbivorous and feed on
grass and water plants, even though they
have a wide range of feed, such as fruit,
roots and leaves (Moreira and
MacDonald, 1997). Foraging areas
depend on food availability (Rocha et al.,
2017), whilst their reproduction
capacity, fast growth and low cost feed
have called the attention of commercial
producers for alternative animal protein
sources (Antonucci and Ribeiro, 2014).
In captivity, they feed on corn, rice,
manioc, banana (Moreira and
MacDonald, 1997) and even sugarcane.
Their simple stomach is capable of
efficiently digesting roughage and
concentration feed (Felix, 2012).
It is a common sight to detect
capybaras on different green areas in
urban sites in Brazil (Almeida et al.,
2013). They are sometimes considered
pests since their occurrence is frequently
associated with crop liabilities
(Antonucci and Ribeiro, 2014), mainly in
sugarcane plantations (Felix, 2012). The
occurrence of ectoparasites on the
animals´ bodies is also frequent (Rocha
et al., 2017) and one may observe the
great amount of birds feeding on the
invertebrates near the herds (Almeida et
al., 2013).
In-depth studies on capybaras are
concerned with ecological,
zootechnological and epidemiological
aspects, without discarding the role of
veterinary medicine. The employment of
animals for scientific experimentation is
a long-dated practice and this resource
has been lately enhanced due to the
development of medical techniques and
treatments (Fagundes et al., 2004).
Rodents already have an important role
in the study of disease mechanisms and
in the development of pre-clinical assays
(Sasaguri et al., 2017). The authors
believe that a detailed knowledge of
capybara anatomy may be highly useful
as a reference. Comparisons are
frequently made with regard to apparent
similarities with other animal groups
through sheer lack of anatomical
knowledge.
The description of the abdominal
aorta, its terminal branches and the
anatomical variations of its structures
has an important role in veterinary
clinical practice, in surgery and in
radiology where related diseases, such as
thromboembolism and aneurism, may be
diagnosed and treated (Silveira et al.,
2018). Current analysis comprises a
study of the terminal branches of the
abdominal aorta in capybaras and its
application in technical-surgical practice.
The authors will describe the anatomic
Description of the terminal branches of the abdominal aorta in capybaras
775
Braz. J. Biol. Sci., 2018, v. 5, No. 11, p. 773-779.
structure of the terminal branches of the
abdominal aorta of the capybara and its
variations when compared to those of
other species.
Materials and methods
Current study was performed at
the laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy of
the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and
Animal Science of the Universidade de
São Paulo, within the Postgraduate
program in the Anatomy of Domestic and
Wild Animals of FMVZ-USP, Brazil. The
study was approved by the Committee
for Ethics in Animal Experimentation
(CEUAVET 6134230518/2018).
Six adult specimens of capybaras
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (n = 5,
females and 1 male) were used. Corpses
resulted from population control and
were donated for research. No animal
was submitted to euthanasia, pain or any
type of suffering. The abdominal aorta
was dissected and immediately
catheterized for latex injection with red
stain for easy visualization of the vases.
The latter were treated with
formaldehyde solution 10%. They were
maintained submerged in troughs with
watery formaldehyde solution for at least
48 h.
Animals were dissected with
surgical material and the ventral and
lateral abdominal wall was removed
from the abdominal cavity. Abdominal
viscera and the caudal vena cava were
also removed to visualize the cavity,
abdominal aorta and its terminal
branches. Branches were described
according to the Veterinary Anatomic
Nomenclature (International Committee
on Veterinary Gross Anatomical
Nomenclature 2017).
Results
The terminal segment of the
abdominal aorta lay close to the lumbar
square muscle and smaller psoas muscle,
contacting the ventral surface of the
lumbar and sacral vertebras, in syntopy
with the caudal cava vena. Termination
of the abdominal aorta in all the animals
under analysis occurred through
ramification on the right and left
common iliac artery and median sacral
artery. The internal right and left iliac
arteries, the external right and left iliac
artery and right and left umbilical artery
branched as collateral branches of the
common iliac artery.
In the above cases, the common
iliac artery evolved from the lateral face
of the abdominal and cranial aorta
towards the source of the internal iliac
artery. The two were significantly bigger
than the internal iliac artery. The internal
iliac arteries revealed a medial trajectory
with regard to the external iliac arteries.
The median sacral artery in all the
specimens evolved from the dorsal face
of the abdominal aorta, prior to the
bifurcation of the terminal branches, and
progressed towards the caudal region.
Termination of the abdominal
aorta in the dissected specimens
occurred through the branching in the
common right and left iliac artery from
where the branches of the umbilical
arteries emerged, following a medial
direction. The common iliac arteries
were continued through the external iliac
arteries, whereas the animals´ internal
iliac arteries evolved as a branch of the
common iliac artery in its dorsal face
(Figure 1). Further, right and left
umbilical artery was reported in all
dissected specimens. In fact, the artery
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Silveira et al.
Braz. J. Biol. Sci., 2018, v. 5, No. 11, p. 773-779.
Figure 1. a) Ventral aspect with abdominal aorta (A) evolving into the right and left common iliac
artery; (B), right and left external iliac artery; (C) right and left umbilical artery (D); median sacral
artery (E). b) Magnification of ventral aspect with abdominal aorta (A) evolving into the right and
left common iliac artery (B); median sacral artery (C); lumbar artery (D).
evolved within the medial face of the
common iliac arteries, without being
pervious.
Discussion
Current analysis demonstrated
that the termination of the abdominal
aorta in all specimens studied evolved
through the ramification in the right and
left common iliac artery and in the
median sacral artery. The right and left
internal iliac arteries, the right and left
external iliac artery and the right and left
umbilical artery branched as collateral
branches of the common iliac artery. The
occurrence of the common iliac artery as
the terminal branch of the abdominal
aorta has also been reported in
marsupials, such as the skunk and the
nutria (Myocastor coypus), respectively
by Silva and Martins (2004) and Culau et
al. (2008). The same description has
been given for lagomorphs, such as
hares, by Daólio et al. (2011) and
Bavaresco et al. (2012).
Macedo et al. (2013) reported a
left common trunk in a female anteater,
prior to ramifications into external and
internal iliac arteries. These results were
not registered in the capybaras studied
in current analysis.
The external iliac artery was
reported by Silva et al. (2011) in the
squirrel monkey; by Geraldo et al. (2013)
in cats; by Silva et al. (2014) in guinea
pigs; by Pinheiro et al. (2014) in ocelots;
by Biihrer et al. (2015) in raccoons, as a
direct branch from the abdominal aorta
on the lateral face. On the other hand, the
external iliac artery was described as a
branch of the common iliac artery by
Silva and Martins (2004) for the skunk;
Culau et al. (2008) for the nutria; Daólio
et al. (2011) and Bavaresco et al. (2012)
for hares. The above agrees with current
results on capybaras.
The internal iliac artery was
described by Silva and Martins (2004) in
skunks; by Silva et al. (2011) in the
squirrel monkey; by Silva et al. (2014) in
guinea pigs; Faria et al. (2016) in Aotus
Description of the terminal branches of the abdominal aorta in capybaras
777
Braz. J. Biol. Sci., 2018, v. 5, No. 11, p. 773-779.
azarae infulatus (owl monkeys), as a
branch of the external iliac artery. Biihrer
et al. (2015) reported that internal iliac
arteries in raccoons evolved as a direct
branch from the abdominal aorta. On the
other hand, Geraldo et al. (2013) and
Pinheiro et al. (2014) described the
internal iliac artery evolving from the
lateral face of a common trunk,
respectively, in cats and ocelots. Daólio et
al. (2011) and Bavaresco et al. (2012)
and (Culau et al. 2008) reported that the
internal iliac artery evolved as a branch
of the common iliac artery, respectively,
for hares and nutrias. In the case of
hares, the internal iliac artery evolved as
a branch of the common iliac artery, as
reported in current study.
According to Silva and Martins
(2004), the median sacral artery in the
skunk evolved from the common iliac
artery in 30% of the dissected anatomic
models. Further, Macedo et al. (2013)
registered that median sacral artery in
the anteater evolved as a branch of the
left internal iliac artery, with the
exception of one specimen in which it
evolved from a common trunk. Daólio et
al. (2011) and Bavaresco et al. (2012),
Silva et al. (2011), Pinto and Silva et al.
(2014), Biihrer et al. (2015) and Faria et
al. (2016) described median sacral artery
as a branch evolving from the dorsal face
of the abdominal aorta, respectively, for
hares, squirrel monkeys, guinea pigs,
raccoons, and night monkeys,
corroborating current analysis.
Conclusion
All specimens studied revealed
that the termination of the abdominal
aorta occurs from ramification in the
right and left common iliac artery and
median sacral artery. The right and left
internal iliac artery, the right and left
external iliac artery and the right and left
umbilical artery branched as collateral
ramifications of the common iliac artery.
Current results agree with those
reported for other rodent species in the
literature.
Conflict of interest
Authors declare that they have no
conflict of interests.
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