The morphology and physiology of body systems is crucial to the applied areas of veterinary medicine. The description of the vessels, nerves and ducts distribution of an organ subdivided into anatomical and surgical segments are necessary for clinical and surgical practices, being relevant for the study of species breeding and experimentation. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the morphology of anatomical and surgical arterial segments in the colon of rabbits, because the colon has a great importance in this specie and it is a representative area of nutrient uptake. Therefore, eight adult (male and female) rabbits were injected via the thoracic aorta with colored latex (red pigment) and fixed in aqueous 10% formaldehyde. The dissection was performed from the point of origin of arteries supplying the colon and the branches distribution and their associations were analyzed in the region. Thus, we could observe that the colon receives branches from the cranial and caudal mesenteric arteries. Colic branches are metameric and perform anastomoses in all their extension, which complicates the characterization of a standard segmentation. However, the branches of the caudal mesenteric artery, for the final part of the descending colon, showed no apparent anastomoses with other branches.
anastomosis; arteries; intestine; Orictolagus cuniculus