Selection of points for regional anesthesia of the trigeminal nerve and its branches in red pandas (Ailurus fulgens fulgens).

The primary goal of regional anesthesia in exotic animals is to alleviate postoperative pain. It also enables a painless surgery and stands a safer option for surgeries than general anesthesia. Due to the varying anatomy of the head among different species of exotic mammals, anesthesia techniques can differ significantly. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the topography of each species individually. This study describes the location of the cranial foramina associated with the trigeminal nerve, the topography of the surrounding bony structures (Table 1) and soft tissues in three red pandas (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) from the Wrocław Zoological Garden (Poland). It also presents techniques for anesthetizing nerves that pass through these foramina to alleviate postoperative pain after head surgeries as well as dental and orofacial procedures. The procedures described in this study were modified from known veterinary anesthesia techniques for cranial nerves in other animals. The results demonstrated variations in injection methods due to differences in the topography of the cranial foramina of the red panda.