Macro-anatomical investigation of the skull of golden jackal (Canis aureus) and its clinical application during regional anesthesia.

The golden jackal has is widespread in Iran as well as in Asia, Europe and Africa. This specie has a first order ranking from the point of view of road accident statistics for wild mammals. It has a high capacity to adapt to different environments as well as to variety of diets, so it has a wide trophic niche. Since, there is a lack of information on anatomical measurements of the skulls of golden jackals and its clinical value during regional anesthesia; the present work was taken. The investigation was carried out on ten mandibles and upper jaws from adult golden jackal aged between 3-7-year-old. Then, a total of seventeen skull measurements and indices were recorded. The skull length, cranial length, nasal length and cranial width of the adult golden jackals were 16.9 cm, 10.1 cm, 6.7 cm and 7.2 cm respectively. Also, the cranial index was 71.28. In addition, the distances from the root of premolar tooth to infra-orbital canal and from the latter to the root of the canine tooth were 1.5 cm and 3.2 cm, respectively. The length and height of the mandibles of the adult golden jackals were 11.2 cm and 6.0 cm, respectively. Furthermore, the distances from the lateral alveolar root to mental foramen and from the mental foramen to caudal mandibular border were 2.5 cm and 8.7 cm, respectively. In the current work, the distances from mandibular foramen to the base of mandible as well as from caudal border of mandible to below of the mandibular foramen were 1.2 cm and 1.1 cm, respectively. Also, the distances from the base of mandible to condyloid fossa and from the latter to the maximum height of mandible were 4.0 cm and 2.0 cm, respectively. Finally, the distance from caudal border of mandible to mandibular foramen and from the latter to mandibular angle were 1.05 cm and 2.37 cm, respectively. These data as important landmarks are discussed with regard to their application to clinical maneuvers around the head of the injured golden jackals for instance in the zoological gardens' surgical practices.