NORMAL APPEARANCE OF THE FRESH RAT FETUS
Anatomical planes
It is considered to be important that the examiner has an appreciation of the terms used to describe the angles at which the specimen is viewed and which can be used to accurately describe observations.
Anatomical description requires the use of a series of terms to denote angles, views, axes, planes and directions. As with the nomenclature of structures, there are various conventions. The terms cranial (or dorsal) and caudal (or ventral) are used to denote the upper and lower regions of the head, respectively. "Rostral" is used to denote the nasal extremity of the head and "occipital" to denote the back of the head (the region at the junction of the head and neck).
The rat fetus
The images below show the normal appearance of the fresh rat fetus at Day 21 of gestation (day mating observed = Day 0).
It is recommended that all structures listed on the The International Register of Fetal Morphologists (IRFM) Expected Minimum Structure List for Fetal Morphology Examinations document be examined and that the Fresh rat external and visceral examination - key structures and notes document be used as a reference.
Learning objective: Compare the image with your own specimens and identify all of the structures that have been labelled.
