Chicken plastination: its role in teaching avian anatomy

This paper describes the preparation of six plastinated chicken dissections for Veterinary Anatomy teaching at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Specimens were fixed in 10% formalin for seven to ten days, depending on the size of the specimen. Room temperature acetone baths were used for dehydration over a period of six weeks. Impregnation in S10 took place over a period of three weeks at -16 °C. The specimens were cured with S6. A peristaltic pump was used during preparation to ensure the intestines were rinsed properly, and the chemicals penetrated the whole specimen. In the curing phase, a compressor was used to inflate the duodenum and small intestines to show the digestive and reproductive tracts. The plastinated specimens were then labelled. Three chicken hearts in different stages of dissection (one intact, one from the ventrum/cranial, one from the dorsum/caudal aspect) were prepared. A muscle dissection was carried out on a whole chicken with its intestines intact. It was found to be preferable to carry out the dissection while the specimen was stored in the acetone bath. When the dissection was complete, the body wall of the chicken was cut through with an oscillating saw before impregnation in S10. Another adult chicken was used for the skeleton. All the muscle was removed, and the skeleton placed in formalin for fixation. After a week, the skeleton was placed in acetone for dehydration. The aim with this skeleton was to show how the ligaments maintain skeletal integrity. The ovary and reproductive tract were also dissected. The plastinated specimens are now available to the students in the anatomical museum. Now students, at their own pace, may study and learn the anatomy of the chicken more intensely.