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Objective: Location and course of thoracic duct in the thorax of Caspian miniature horse.
Design: Descriptive study.
Procedure: Three Caspian miniature horses, above two years old, were used for this study. Horses were embalmed after euthanasia by exsangunation.Thorax was dissected on either sides and different structures including thoracic duct were determined, painted and photographed. The course an[ relation of the thoracic duct to adjacent structures were studied.
Results: In two miniature horses, the duct was situated on the right side, passed cranial and opened in cranial vena cava at the venous angle. In one horse the duct was on the left side on its entire course.
Conclusion: The anatomical position, relation and course of the thoracic duct in two miniature horses which was on the right side was similar to ordinary horse. However in one horse the duct was totally situated on the left. This condition is very rare and uncommon in horses.
J.Fac. Vet.Med. Univ. Tehran. 60,3:295-296,2005.