Morphometric investigation of neurocranium in domestic cat (Felis catus)

Abstract

This study was intended to investigate some aspects of the morphometric characteristics of the neurocranium in domestic cat (Felis catus) of Bangladesh. Twenty adult domestic cat including 10 males and 10 female were euthanized using diazepam (@ 20 mg/kg) and their skulls were macerated to give morphometric parameters. Student t-test with level of significance set at 5% (p < 0.05) was used to analyze the obtained values. The mean (mean ± SE) neurocranial volume was 28 ± 0.97 ml, neurocranial length was 6.63 ± 0.77 cm, and the neurocranial height and index were 3.32 ± 0.38 cm and 49.83%, respectively. The mean height and width of the foramen magnum were 1.32 ± 0.09 cm and 1.35 ± 0.08 cm, respectively, while the foramen index was below 100 at 90.72 ± 4.93. Parameters for the foramen magnum index showed significant difference between both sexes at p < 0.05. The foramen magnum showed shape variations and there were multiple hypoglossal foramina in over 80% of the cats. Foramen magnum index was positively correlated with neurocranial volume. The results were discussed in terms of the usage of morphologic and morphometric characteristics of cranium and skulls in several basic and clinical applications in cat such as estimation of the brain density and the use of the cat for cranial pressure experiments. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjvm.v11i1.17302 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2013). 11 (1): 69-73