Key data of elephant physiology and anatomy.

The necropsy of an elephant represents a rare event for most veterinary pathology facilities outside of Africa and Asia. Here, we report a comprehensible, abundantly illustrated, step-by-step protocol adapted to the special technical and anatomical peculiarities of elephant necropsies with regard to the needed equipment, aspects of transmissible disease prevention and workplace safety, personnel, time efforts, as well as important elephant diseases and their zoonotic potential. Detailed instructions for dissection, macroscopic examination and sampling of all relevant organs and tissues are provided, along with checklists for preparation and smooth execution of elephant necropsies. Using the featured protocols, a complete elephant necropsy with generation of extensive samples for histological, microbiological, and molecular analyses can be performed by 10–12 persons (5–6 pathologists and 5–6 assistants) within 4–6 hours in case of an adult animal.对于非洲与亚洲以外的绝大多数兽医病理机构而言，大象尸体剖检是极为罕见的工作项目。本研究呈现了一份通俗易懂、配图详实的分步操作规程，该规程针对大象尸体剖检的特殊技术与解剖学特性进行了适配，涵盖所需设备、传染病防控与职业安全要点、人员配置、时间投入，以及重要的大象疾病及其人畜共患病潜在风险等内容。方案中详细提供了所有相关器官与组织的解剖操作、大体检查及采样流程的具体指导，并配套了用于剖检准备与顺利实施的检查清单。依托本规程，10至12名工作人员（5至6名病理学家与5至6名助理）可在4至6小时内完成成年大象的完整尸体剖检，并获取足量用于组织学、微生物学及分子生物学分析的样本。