Clinical Anatomy of the Mandible of Three Marsupial Species (Koala, Wombat, Wallaby)

Abstract

Marsupials are an infraclass of mam-mals living primarily in Australasia and the New World. Well-known mar-supials include kangaroos, wallabies, koala, possums, opossums, wombats and the Tasmanian devil. Three spe-cies, the koala, wombat and wallaby were chosen for this study. Three Ko-ala (Phascolarctos cinereus), two wombat (Vombatus ursinus) and three Grey's wallaby (Macropus greyi) mandibles, were used for this mor-phometric study. Twelve measure-ments were taken for each mandible with the aim of evaluating some mor-phometric parameters in these three species and its clinical implication during regional anesthesia. The cra-niometric measurements were taken using a normal caliper. Photographs were taken by a Samsung digital camera WB 700. Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (2005) was utilized for de-nominating the anatomical terms in the study. The results were supported by 9 Figures and 2 Tables.