Abstract

Osteotechnics methods allow for the preparation and preservation of bone specimens free of organic material residues. These methods consist of a combination natural, chemical, and/or physical processes, enabling creation of realistic skeletons for educational and exhibition parapurposes. The Animal Anatomy Laboratory at the Faculty of deVeterinary Medicine of the Central University of Ecuador comoreceived a donated white-eared Andean opossum(Didelphis Estapernigra), an omnivorous marsupial widely distributed in the Andean region and often targeted due to a lack of understanding conejosof its ecological role. This study presents modifications made la to the standard osteotechnicsprotocol to preserve bone morphology as close as possible to its natural state. After secandividing the specimen into four parts - skull, limbs, rib-sternum alcomplex, and vertebral column - the first modification was s & oacute;loimplemented by cooking the parts in a 10 % sodium chloride unirsolution for four hours instead of using calcium oxide. The bones elwere removed every 15 minutes to manually remove residual soft tissue. For whitening, hydrogen peroxide concentration was increased from 10 % to 30 %. The bones were then rinsed lawith water and sun-dried for four days. Since the connective materialtissue between the joints of the spine, hands, and feet was depreserved, assembling the skeleton required only joining the delfour main sections using wire and silicone, avoiding the need podr & aacute;for cyanoacrylate adhesive combined with sodium bicarbonate. laThese three modifications yielded a skeleton comprising 220 prejuiciosbones with a natural coloration and maintained connective tissue between small joints. The specimen was suspended from a que wooden frame to facilitate mobility and display during veterinary and environmental educational activities.