Sessions

The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) belongs to the family Tapiridae with three further living species. Since 1986 this species has been categorised as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

As one of the oldest living Perissodactyla, tapirs are commonly referred to as “living fossils” because of their minimal core morphological changes. Therefore, Tapiridae have sparked an interest in understanding the odd-toed ungulate morphological evolution. Furthermore, due to the tapir’s limb adaptation to soft, moist forest grounds, foot health concerns belong to the most common veterinary interventions in captivity.

Accordingly, appropriate knowledge of the related anatomy is required for their proper treatment, but only scarce and inconsistent literature with limited available images can be found. This study aims to apply the 4D scanner for the first time in veterinary anatomy using the tapir’s distal forelimb. In this method, the subject is dissected by removing each layer of muscle and fascia one by one, and each exposed layer is recorded from every angle using a high-resolution digital camera orbiting above the dissection board. The system software then combines these images into a 3D model.

The left forelimb of a zoo-kept Malayan tapir, whose death was unrelated to the limbs, was investigated utilizing the 4D scanner. The dissection was performed in 19 layers and resulted in 1080 images per layer adding up to 20520 images altogether.

A multi-layered digital twin of the distal tapir forelimb was created, visualising the structures from the skin down to the skeleton. In our specimen we found an additional M. lumbricales manus along with a muscle, located mediopalmar to digit II that were both not described yet in this species.

The digital version of the tapirs´ distal forelimb enables the visualisation of the anatomical findings including novel muscles as well as simultaneously aiding to understand the related literature. This study proves that the 4D technology can be adapted for veterinary anatomy education, studying and preserving endangered species as a digital copy or to plan surgical approaches.The digital limb will be accessible online, helping veterinarians working with tapirs.