Abstract

Background: Guinea pigs are typically utilized extensively in biomedical research, playing a crucial part in epidemiological and medicinal investigations.
Aim: The study aimed to investigate the anatomical characteristics of the skull typology of the guinea pig.
Methods: A total of 10 adult guinea pigs, comprising five males and five females, aged between 8 and 10 months with body weights ranging from 800 to 900g, were used for the study. The animals were obtained from the Animal House, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria and transported to the Gross Anatomy laboratory, Department of Veterinary Anatomy for quick decapitation and bone processing. Animals were kept for 15 days, anesthetized with chloroform, and humanely sacrificed by quick cervical dislocation. A conventional procedure was used to macerate the bones, and structural features of the processed bones of the skulls were measured directly using pre-established anatomical points. The research work commenced on 4th April 2016 and the data obtained were analyze in September 2016.
Results: The mean weight of skull bones of the female is 9.62±0.68g, which was heavier than the 7.90±0.50g of the male. The female also shows longer measurements than the male in the dorsal surface of the skull (6.49±0.09 and 6.14±0.11), lateral surface of the skull (0.50±0.01 and 0.34±0.09), occipital bones at the caudal surface of the skull (1.58±0.03 and 1.49±0.04), and bones of the mandibles (3.56±0.05 and 3.32±0.04), respectively. A p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Conclusion: This study vividly explores morphometric information that will aid in the sexual dimorphism and taxonomy of the guinea pigs.

Key words: Osteometry, Skull, Mandible, Guinea pig