Open the Right Side, Reveal Everything — The Most Comprehensive Canine Thoracic Cavity Specimen Available

The Erler-Zimmer Canine Thoracic Cavity is a premium, 3D printed anatomical specimen model presenting a right-side dissection of the thoracic cavity of an adult dog, with the right thoracic wall and right lung removed to expose the full depth of the thorax in its natural anatomical arrangement. This model covers an exceptional range of structures across all three mediastinal compartments, the autonomic nervous system, the musculature of the thoracic and cervical spine, the brachial plexus, and the preserved diaphragm with its costal and lumbar attachments. No comparable specimen delivers this breadth of thoracic anatomy in a single, permanent, reusable preparation. Contact us today to order yours and elevate your veterinary anatomy program.

Three Mediastinal Compartments, One Specimen — Designed for Comprehensive Thoracic Anatomy Instruction

This model is built for veterinary programs where thoracic anatomy is taught with the depth and precision that clinical practice demands. With the right thoracic wall and right lung removed and the pulmonary vessels left in situ in relation to the heart, all three mediastinal compartments — cranial, middle, and caudal — are simultaneously accessible and clearly delineated. The cranial mediastinum reveals the cranial vena cava, right subclavian artery branches, longus colli muscle, thoracic trachea, and esophagus; the middle mediastinum displays the heart within its fibrous pericardium alongside the principal bronchi; and the caudal mediastinum exposes the caudal vena cava, phrenic nerve, thoracic aorta, azygos vein, esophagus with its vagal trunks, and sympathetic trunk. For courses in veterinary thoracic anatomy, surgical approach, neuroanatomy, or clinical imaging correlation, this specimen provides a permanent, authoritative teaching reference unlike anything available in print or digital form.

Why Every Veterinary Anatomy Lab Needs this Model on the Table

The gap between understanding thoracic anatomy on paper and recognizing it in a clinical or surgical context is one of the most challenging in veterinary education. The VP9040 was designed specifically to bridge that gap.

• Veterinary anatomy courses gain a single, endlessly reusable specimen that simultaneously exposes all three mediastinal compartments, allowing students to study the spatial relationships between thoracic structures in a way that no diagram, plastinated specimen, or digital model can fully replicate.
• Veterinary surgery programs benefit from a right-side approach dissection that maps directly to the surgical access used for right-sided thoracic procedures, giving students a clear and accurate pre-operative anatomical orientation before they enter a real surgical field.
• Neuroanatomy and autonomic nervous system courses will find the preserved phrenic nerve, vagosympathetic trunk, stellate ganglion, dorsal and ventral vagal trunks, and sympathetic trunk invaluable — these structures are rarely visible together in a single preparation at this level of detail.
• Clinical imaging and radiology courses can use this specimen to ground students in the three-dimensional relationships between thoracic structures that are encountered on radiographs, CT scans, and ultrasound, making image interpretation far more intuitive.
• Produced by Erler-Zimmer to ISO 9001 quality standards and backed by a 3-year manufacturer warranty, this specimen is a long-term investment that serves multiple student cohorts without any loss of anatomical detail or structural integrity.

What the VP9040 Shows That No Other Thoracic Model Can Match

• All three mediastinal compartments fully accessible in one specimen — cranial, middle, and caudal — each with their respective vascular, neural, and visceral contents preserved in correct spatial relationship to one another, from the cranial vena cava to the caudal mediastinal recess.
• Complete autonomic nervous system pathway through the thorax, including the phrenic nerve, vagosympathetic trunk, stellate ganglion, dorsal and ventral vagal trunks, and sympathetic trunk — a combination of structures that is exceptionally rare to find preserved together on a single specimen.
• Pulmonary vessels retained in situ following lung excision, preserving the anatomical relationship between the pulmonary vasculature, principal bronchi, and the base of the heart — critical context for cardiopulmonary and respiratory anatomy instruction.
• Diaphragm fully preserved with costal arch and lumbar vertebral attachments intact, providing a clear anatomical boundary between the thoracic and abdominal cavities and illustrating the structural continuity that connects the two regions.
• Brachial plexus, intercostal muscles, and cervical and thoracic spinal extensor musculature all retained, extending the teaching value of this specimen well beyond the mediastinum into musculoskeletal and peripheral nervous system anatomy — making it one of the most multi-system thoracic specimens available.

Technical Specifications of the Product

• Product dimensions: Lifesize
• Included with purchase:
  • 1 x Canine Thoracic Cavity Specimen Model