Morphological aspects of eyeball extrinsic muscles and other anatomical aspects in a tapir (Tapirus terrestris): Case report

Abstract

The aim of this work was to describe the morphological aspects of the eyeball and associated anatomical components of the Tapirus terrestris. The study was performed with two heads of unknown origin, donated to the Laboratory of Morphological studies of the Veterinary Medicine University in Araçatuba, São Paulo. External aspects revealed similarities with other mammals; however, the orbital cavity has an area of 20-mm3 ± 1.4 mm3, considered higher than a horse’s, for example. The description of eyeball muscles followed what has been described for other species with defined origin and insertion. The tapir is a mammal found in South America and almost all biomes, but with little information about its macro and microscopic morphology in literature. The choice of this species for the study is also justified based on their macro morphological features which, notably, are fundamental to the biological knowledge of the species. This kind of research contributes with relevant data about this species which is still scarcely studied.

Keywords

• eyes
• intrinsic and extrinsic structures
• mammals
• morphology