Rabbit Snout Growth After Resection of Central Linear Segments of Nasal Septal Cartilage

Abstract

Central sections, ranging in width from 3 to 6 mm and in length from 9 to 15 mm were removed from the cartilaginous nasal septum in 21-day-old rabbits. Within six weeks postoperatively a lack of forward growth of the upper face and malocclusion of the incisors were noted. The postoperative survival was 16 weeks. Postmortem gross findings revealed that in the experimental animals the snout was shorter and smaller with a relative mandibular prognathism. The nasal and premaxillary bones were shorter and the nasal cavity and piriform aperture were smaller than in the control animals. After the central continuity of the septal cartilage had been interrupted, there was a dissipation of the interstitial growth force expressed in part in the overlapping of the margins and in the lessened dorsal and forward growth of the snout. A relationship exists between the site and amount of cartilaginous nasal septum resected and the location and extent of the ensuing growth arrest of the snout.