Branches of the abdominal aorta in Aotus azarae infulatus

Abstract

The genus Aotus is found in South America and is known for its nocturnal habit. The morphology of the genus is poorly understood even though it is used in biomedical research. The objective of this study was to identify the collateral branches of the abdominal aorta of two females and one male Aotus azarae infulatus (commonly known as the night monkey). The vessels were observed and stained with Neoprene latex and radiopaque contrast. The animals were fixed in an aqueous solution of 10% formaldehyde via intramuscular and intracavitary routes, dissected and radiographed. It was observed that the celiac artery was divided into three subjacent branches, the gastric, hepatic and splenic arteries. The left and right renal arteries originated from a common trunk in two animals (animals 1 and 2), while the adrenal artery in one of the animals was derived from the celiac trunk and renal artery (animal 2). In one animal the mesenteric artery flow gave rise to individual cranial rectal, sigmoid and left colic arteries (animal 3). In the three animals the abdominal aorta bifurcated in the final portion of the abdomen, with the external and internal iliac artery on each side, and then the median sacral artery. These anatomical variations need to be identified and reported because these animals are frequently used in clinical and surgical, veterinary practices.