Respiratory system
The rabbit is an obligate nose breather, i.e. it must breathe through its nose. (Mouth breathing is often a poor prognostic sign.I The nose twitches 20-120 IiinesZminutc but ceases under general anaesthesia.
The glottis is small and difficult to see as the view is impaired by the relatively large tongue. This can make intubation di∩icull and precautions must be taken to avoid reflex Iaryngospasm.The thymus gland remains a considerable size into adult life. Il lies ventral Io the heart and runs Cranially to the thoracic inlet. The thoracic cavity is quite small and breathing mainly involves the diaphragm. The
F⅛. 14.6 Urogc∩ιnorphs - lhe mouse-like rodents. They are all omnivorous and can lx∙ further subdivided into:
- Mouse and rat: surface-living rodents
- Iierbil and hiimster: burrowing rodents
2. 5< Inroinorphs - lhe squirrel-likc rodents. They are omnivorous and Ihe group includes the chipmunks.
L llι∣slrh (>ιιn∙rplιs - a Icrm related to the mode of reproduction. This group includes guinea pigs anti Chinchilliis. They both have a long gestation period i∣nd produce precocial young: they arc herbivorous.
Iiibles 14.1 and 14.2 Ipiiges IXKand I X9) give physiological and reproductive pi∣πιmelers Ibrsmall rodents.