Anatomy of the head in the Saanen goat: a computed tomographic and cross-sectional approach

The present work aimed to investigate the anatomical structures of the Saanen goat head and its volumetric properties using computed tomography (CT) and stereological methods. Eight adult Saanen goat heads were included in this study. The different cavities and structures of the head, including nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, oral cavity, orbital cavity, and cranial cavity were evaluated using CT scans, cross, sagittal, and coronal sections. The volume of head cavities and structures were estimated using the Cavalieri method. The results showed that the dorsal, middle and nasal ventral concha contained the dorsal, middle and ventral conchal sinuses, respectively. The paranasal sinuses constituted maxillary, frontal, lacrimal, and ethmoidal that were recognized and named in the CT scan images and their corresponding anatomical cross sections. The palatine and sphenoidal sinuses were not seen in the Saanen goat. Total volume of the head, nasal cavity and cranial cavity was estimated to be 1958 ± 205, 825.4 ± 62.6 and 423.6 ± 48.2 cm3, respectively. The frontal sinus was the largest paranasal sinus with a volume of 281.8 ± 16.9 cm3 and the lacrimal sinus with a volume 50.2 ± 6 cm3 was the smallest one. The ventral conchal sinus with a volume of 26.6 ± 4.5 cm3 and middle conchal sinus with a volume of 13.4 ± 2.6 cm3 were largest and smallest nasal sinuses, respectively. These results may be used as a basic data to provide a reference set for volume of the examined head structures resulting in better and more precise diagnosis of any pathological volume alteration.