Descrição de parâmetros oftálmicos e morfofisiológicos em cachorros-do-mato e coelhos

Abstract

ARAUJO, N. L. L. C. Description of ophthalmic and morphophysiological parameters in crab eating foxes and rabbits. Salvador, 2020. 121p. Thesis (Doctor in Animal Science on Tropics) – School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny – Federal University of Bahia. An understanding of species' morphological and physiological parameters of the visual system is crucial to developing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for domestic and wild animals kept in human care, besides aid in species-specific conservation actions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe anatomical, histological and computed tomography (CT) features of the eye and adnexa in crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), compared to domestic dogs. The structural similarities between the crab-eating fox and domestic dog, demonstrated using CT and macroscopic and histological evaluation of the eye and adnexa may suggest the domestic dog as a study model for the preventive and therapeutic management of wild dogs kept in human care. In contrast, the development and standardization of specific diagnostic methods for ocular surface examination may enable an early diagnosis of diseases affecting the tear film and require the use of animal models used in human eye testing of ophthalmic products. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the rabbit tear biochemical profile and osmolarity, and to describe the tear ferning test (TFT) in this species. Median ± semi-interquartile range for tear osmolarity was 283.5 ± 7.50 mOsm/L. Type I and Grade 1 were the most commonly observed (60% and 50%, respectively) ferning classifications in rabbits’ tears. The TFT assay, osmolarity and biochemistry analysis herein described may serve as a basis for researches using rabbits as ophthalmic disease model and in the development and testing of products used for ocular health.