Computed tomographic anatomy of the head of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta).
The heads of three loggerhead sea turtles were disarticulated and imaged immediately to minimize postmortem changes and then frozen and sectioned. For computed tomography (CT) imaging, the heads were positioned in ventral recumbency. Transverse CT images with soft-tissue window were obtained from the olfactory sac region to the temporomandibular joint region. After CT imaging, the heads were sectioned and the gross sections were compared to CT images, to assist in the accurate identification of the anatomic structures. Different clinically relevant anatomic structures were identified and labelled in two series of photographs (CT images and anatomic cross-sections). CT images provided good differentiation between the bones and the soft tissues of the head. The information presented in this paper should serve as an initial reference to evaluate CT images of the head of the loggerhead sea turtle and to assist in the interpretation of lesions of this region.
Department of Morphology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University, Trasmontaña 35416, Arucas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. aarencibia@dmor.ulpgc.es
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Arencibia
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Rivero
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De Miguel
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Contreras
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Cabrero
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D000818:Animals; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000662:veterinary; D014426:Turtles / Q000033:anatomy & histology*