EQUINE SKELETAL PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS

When the decision was made to euthanatize an acutely laminitic Thoroug hbred brood-mare, graduate students from the Department of Animal Scie nces and Industry reconstructed the skeleton for use as a teaching too l. The reproductive and gastrointestinal tracts were removed and prese rved in formalin. The hide, muscle, tendons, ligaments, and organs wer e removed, and the bones were boiled in water for greater-than-or-equa l-to 48 h to remove all remaining tissue. After boiling, the bones wer e soaked in gasoline to remove fat from the marrow cavities and then s oaked in a bleach/detergent mixture as a final cleaning step. The bone s were allowed to dry for several weeks, then a semi-gloss clear lacqu er was applied to aid in preservation. The bones were connected with 1 7-gauge wire and supported by two 1.91-cm galvanized steel rods on a m obile platform. The vertebral column was aligned on flexible copper tu be with a 1.27-cm diameter. Additional support was provided for the he ad and neck by aluminum and steel rods extending from the front suppor t. The final product is a complete, mobile skeleton that will be used as a teaching aid in equine classes. The skeleton serves a function fo r all levels of the cognitive learning domain. Examples of application s include memorization, identification, and location of bones; use in case studies for synthesis and demonstration of brainstorming efforts; and evaluation of joint ailments for more advanced levels of learning .