Development of the Lacrimal Apparatus in the Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and Its Potential Role as an Animal Model for Humans

Figure 6

A rectangular wedge of two facial bones that house the nasolacrimal duct (NLD) is shown, drawn after a three-dimensional reconstruction that was generated from a 27 day old rabbit fetus. For reference, the approximate location of these bones is shown at upper left, using an illustration of a juvenile rabbit skull. Note the maxilla (Max, in yellow) is show developing flanges around the NLD at the anteromedial section of the NLD. The proximal end of the NLD includes a sharp angular transition between the maxilla and the lacrimal (La, in blue). The maxilloturbinal bone is removed. Abbreviations: A = anterior, L = lateral, M = medial, and P = posterior. (Original illustration by T. D. Smith).