A study of some rostrofacial indices related to regional anaesthesia of the porcine: implications as an animal model for dental research.

There has been a widespread use of pigs in medical and biomedical training and research due to many similarities in the morphophysiology of tissues between swine and humans The aim of this study was to measure some rostrofacial indices of some indigenous pigs in Nigeria, with a view to providing basic information on some clinically important parameters. Using 26 pigs, the mean values for the mandibular lenghts MDL-1 and MDL-2 were 16.74±1.76cm and 15.98±2.32cm for the males and 18.03±3.04 and 17.07±2.54 for the females. The mean distance of the infraorbital foramen to the root of the alveolus of premolar three was relatively constant between sexes and age group however, significant differences was found in the distance between the medial mental foramen and the mandibular foramen, between age group within sexes. Several lateral foramina were observed on either side of the bodies of the mandibles, with an average of 6 in the males and 7 in the females with the implications for anaesthesia discussed. With increasing use of the porcine species as experimental models for improvement of human dental implants, this work will further aid the knowledge of the regional anaesthesia of this species in dental implant studies and could be of value in the surgical intervention of priced animals.