International Journal of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health

International Journal of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health Vol. 2 (2), pp. 001-002, February, 2011. © International Scholars Journals

Short Communication

Situs inversus totalis in a wistar albino rat

Bülent Salman¹*, Tugan Tezcaner¹, Bahadır Ege¹, Mustafa Kerem¹, Ça da  Oto² and Tonguç Utku Yılmaz¹

¹Gazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Surgery, Ankara, Turkey.

²Ankara University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Ankara, Turkey.

Accepted 14 December, 2010

Abstract

Situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital condition in which the major organs are reversed in relation to their normal position. A 12- weeks-old Wistar albino rat that had no clinical signs of disease was examined macroscopically. It was observed that the location of the heart, liver, spleen and stomach was the opposite of their normal position and that the aorta and caudal vena cava were in a reverse orientation to each other. This case report describes the anatomical features of situs inversus totalis observed in this rat.