Abstract:

Objective    To study the position, morphology and adjacent structures of the rabbit sternocleidomastoid muscle, and establish a rabbit model of congenital torticollis.  Methods    Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were used in this study,which were dissected for observation of the anatomic relationship of the sternocleidomastoid muscle with surrounded vessels and nerve. Different hardening agents were injected in different segments of sternocleidomastoid muscle to evaluate the optimal model making method. Then the range of injection above the surface was estimated.    Results   The best project was 0.75ml/kg anhydrous alcohol injected into the lower segment of sternocleidomastoid muscle. The range was an approximate 2 cm2 parallelogram areas, a nearly 18 degree angle of the upper part of the sternum, with a height of about 2.3 cm and a width of about 0.85 cm.   Conclusion　This experiment provides an anatomical basis for establishment of congenital torticollis model, and effectively improves the success rate of modeling.

Key words: Congenital torticollis, 　Sternocleidomastoid muscle, 　Applied anatomy