Exotics - rabbits Flashcards
What is the fat storage called in the neck of female rabbits?
Dewlap
How are rabbit ears used for thermoregulation?
Is a countercurrent arteriovenous shunt - shunt blood between the ears and the core
Where in the rabbit is used for venepuncture?
Caudal auricular vein (marginal ear vein)
Jugular vein
Saphenous vein
Which eyelid is shorter in rabbits?
Upper - shorter and thicker
How often do rabbits blink?
1-12 times an hour
What is important to note about the lacrimal duct in rabbits?
Only one lacrimal punctum and a very small nasal punctum
Very tortuous duct - 2 sigmoid curves
Prone to blockage and inflammation
Where are rabbits blind?
In front of nose and mouth
What feature of the lip do rabbits have?
Philtrum
How many nipples do rabbits have?
2-5 pairs
What scent glands do rabbits have and why?
Submandibular glands
Inguinal glands
Anal glands
Very territorial
What kind of genitals do rabbits have?
Not separate genital and urethra
anogenital distance not helpful
Penis looks round
What feature do rabbits have on their scapula?
Suprahamate process - hook shaped
What feature do rabbits have on their pelvis?
Acetabulum excludes the pubis
What type of teeth do rabbits have?
all aradicular
What is an identifying feature on a rabbit skull?
2 sets of upper incisors
What are the rudimentary incisors on the lingual side called?
Peg teeth
How many teeth do rabbits have?
28
What is the dental formula for rabbits?
I2/1 PM3/3 M3/3
What is diphyodont in rabbits?
Loose deciduous teeth in gestation
How is the mandible united in rabbits?
Strong fibrous symphysis
What are the muscles of mastication like in rabbits?
Large masseter
smaller temporalis
Masseter doesnt insert on rostral nose
What are features of the tongue in rabbits?
Torus linguae
Small glottis - difficult to intubate
What can occur at sites of root penetration?
Periapical abscesses
What is dacrocystitis in rabbits?
Where reserve crowns impinge on the nasolacrimal duct
What can dental disease cause?
Digestive disorders
Perianal matting - caecotrophs more eaten
Poor grooming
What is the lobulation of rabbit lungs?
Both lobulated
No septa separating the lobules so pneumonia not localised
What is it called when rabbits eat at dawn and dusk?
Crepuscular
What is the primary bacteria in the caecum of rabbits?
Bacteroides - rather than lactobacillus
How many lobes do rabbit livers have?
4-6
Which liver lobe can be an issue in rabbits?
Caudate lobe - on a stalk so can torsion
What animal is the rabbit GI tract similar to?
Horse - same in terms of midgut fermenter, always needs to be eating as gut stasis can be life threatening
Which areas are glandular and non glandular in stomach?
Glandular - fundus
Non glandular - cardia
What sphincter is well developed in rabbit stomachs and what does this cause?
Cardiac sphincter - cant burp or vomit
What does the end of the ilium expand into in the rabbit?
Sacculus rotundus
What tissue is the sacculus rotundus made up of?
Lymphoid tissue
What does the sacculus rotundus open into?
Ampulla caecalis coli
What is attached to the caecum?
Vermiform appendix
What is the caecum divided into?
3 parts - by its flextures into gyri
What part of the rabbit GI tract has taeniae and houstra adn how many?
Proximal colon
First section has 3 taeniae
Second section has 1 taenia
What divides the proximal and distal colon?
Fusus coli - third part of proximal colon
What does the fusus coli do?
Regulates the passage of ingesta into the distal colon as a pacemaker
What are the three types of colonic motility?
Segmental
Haustral
Peristaltic
What is the fusus coli made up of?
Circular muscle, highly innervated
How are the different GI tract contents dealt with by the fusus coli?
High fibre eliminated fast
Nutrient rich particles sent back to caecum to become caecotrophs
What is caecotrophy necessary for?
Production of vitamin B and K
What is caecotrophy?
Bacterial fermentation used to synthesis nutrients
Avoids the need to store large volumes of food
What are caecotrophs made up of?
Richly concentrated digestible fraction
What do the different contractions do?
Segmental and haustral contractions separate the ingesta into solid and liquid mechanically
What do the different contractions do?
Segmental and haustral contractions separate the ingesta into solid and liquid mechanically
What happens in the hard faeces phase?
Solid particles pass down lumen
liquid fraction pass to periphery of haustra then returned to caecum by antiperistalsis
When does the soft faeces phase occur?
When the rabbit is not feeding
What happens in the soft faeces phase?
Caecum contracts
Digesta passes into distal colon
Increased motility in distal colon, decreased in proximal colon and caecum
What happens to caecotrophs after excretion?
Eaten directly from anus
Coated in mucus - prevent acid digestion
Fermentation continues in fundus of stomach
Absorption of nutrients in small intestine
What kind of kidneys do rabbits have?
Unipapillate - fused cortex, smooth
What kind of uterus do rabbits have?
Duplex - 2 cervices
What kind of young do rabbits have?
Altricial
What kind of oestrous cycle do rabbits have?
Induced ovulators
How long are rabbits gestation?
31-32 days
What accessory sex glands do rabbits have?
All of them
