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Spotting Cheetahs: Identifying Individuals by Their Footprints
Published on: May 1, 2016
Radiographic kidney measurements in captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)
Nicole C Hackendahl1, Scott B Citino
1College of Veterinary Medicine, Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida, P.O. Box 100126, Gainesville, Florida 32610-0126, USA.
Abstract:
The prevalence of chronic renal disease is substantial among captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). The purpose of this study was to determine kidney measurements from radiographs of captive cheetahs (n = 15) with normal renal function. The ratio of kidney length to length of the body of the second lumbar vertebrae has been established for domestic cats with normal renal function. The mean ratio of renal length to length of the second lumbar vertebra was 1.81 +/- 0.14 in cheetahs. This baseline data may allow an objective evaluation of radiographic kidney size in cheetahs. However, evaluation of a small number of cheetahs with confirmed renal failure resulted in a similar ratio.
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