This study is meant to illustrate and describe the features of the auditory ossicles of the chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera), one of the species used more and more frequently in otology and ear surgery as animal model. Cephalic extremities of 12 C. lanigera individuals obtained from a private farm, where this species was bred for fur, were used in this study. The ossicles were obtained either by direct surgical harvesting by mastoid approach or after a dermestid beetle exposure followed by anatomical dissection. The three ossicles that form the assembly are the malleus, incus and stapes. After the removal of these ossicles, a series of anatomical descriptions were made, followed by seriate sets of measurements. The malleus and incus form a joined-single unit called the maleo-incal complex, with an elongated straight appearance, also due to the development of the anterior process. The handle of the malleus and the long process of incus are almost perpendicular to the main axis of the maleo-incal complex. The presence of the muscular process on the handle of the malleus is recorded. The overall shape of the incus is given by the uneven development of the two processes and the reduced neck part. The stapes is the smallest of the components that maintains the well-known architecture in accordance with the general model. The morphology of all three ossicles is backed by a series of measurements, some standard, some adapted to the morphology of the ossicles. From the very reduced comparative metrical data at our disposal, our study presents an average of 10% lower values for the ones presented earlier by other researchers in the same species.
Keywords: chinchilla; anatomy; auditory ossicles; middle ear; morphometry.
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