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Abstract #8300 Published in IGR 4-3
Intraocular pressure determination in clinically normal red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria)
Selmi AL; Mendes GM; McManus C; Arrais PJournal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 2002; 33: 58-61
Intraocular pressure (IOP) reflects a balance between aqueous humor production and outflow, and is often an essential ophthalmic diagnostic procedure in animals. The objective of this study was to estimate IOP in clinically normal red-footed tortoises (Geochelone carbonaria) of various sizes by using applanation tonometry. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was estimated for 25 captive red-footed tortoises (ten males, ten females, and five animals of unknown sex) by using an applanation tonometer after topical anesthesia. Body length ranged from 5.1-54.9 cm, measured from nuchal to anal scutes. Five measurements from each eye were obtained by a single observer in an ambient temperature of approximately 30°C. Observer's reliability was good (intraclass r = 0.75), and IOP did not change over the ordered sequence of five replicate measurements. For individual tortoises, the correlation for IOP between the left and right eyes was low (r = 0.20). The paired t test did not show any statistical effect (p = 0.426) for the difference in IOP between the left and right eyes. Mean IOP determined for ten confirmed males and ten confirmed females did not differ between sexes (p = 0.244). The mean IOP of five small tortoises (< 10 cm long) was not significantly different (p = 0.244) from that of 20 large tortoises (> 10 cm long). In red-footed tortoises there does not appear to be any relation between carapace length and IOP.
A.L. Selmi, MD, Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinaria, Universidade de Brasilia, Brasilia-Distrito Federal, Brazil
Classification:
5 Experimental glaucoma; animal models
