Dimensions of rabbit subglottis and trachea

One of the most challenging problems confronting otolaryngologists today re mains the management of subglottic stenosis (SGS) in infants and children. It is a problem of decreased airway calibre, usually associated with prolon ged intubation. The pathophysiology of an intubated airway becoming stenoti c is not fully understood. Although an ideal animal model for studying SCS does not currently exist, several studies have used the rabbit's airway as a wound healing model. III order to establish such a model in the rabbit, s izes of the normal rabbit larynx must be measured in order to compare them to the diseased airway. Measuring the airway diameters of 35 rabbits rangin g from 2.3-5.1 kg, the average airway at the level of the cricoid was found to be 5.81 mm (ventral-dorsal) by 5.41 mm (lateral). These dimensions did not vary significantly with animal weight.