Journal of University of Duhok., Vol. 22, No.2 (Agri. and Vet. Sciences), Pp 81-84, 2102 ronak.habib@uod.ac 81 LOCAL SHEEP SKELETON PREPARATION: DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PRESERVATION TECHNIQUE RONAK SABER HABIB Dept. of Theriogenology, Physiology & Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region-Iraq (Received: July 21, 2019; Accepted for Publication: September 23, 2019) ABSTRACT Cracking, crumbling, non-pleasant smell and changing bone color during and after bone preservation are the most common issues in the former skeleton models’ preparation. This qualitative-experimental project presents a new technique by mixing between a number of the old techniques of preservation of the skeleton models via the below four main steps: First, boiling the bones with tap water and degreasing with a detergent. Then, drying naturally under sunlight. Afterward, boiling with 3% hydrogen peroxide. Finally, re-attaching and installation of the final skeleton model on a wooden plate. The vertebrae was articulated with each other in their main anatomical positions. The ribs were fixed with the thoracic vertebrae. The mandible was attached to the skull, and the skull was installed into the vertebral column. The fore- and hind-limbs were assembled; the scapula was attached with the ribs and the femur with the pelvic bone at the acetabulum. Finally, the carpal, tarsus, patella, and sesamoid bones were assembled and fixed in their main anatomical positions. The final installed skeleton formed with desirable white color, with no foul smell, no crack and crumble and highly tolerable to cold and hot temperature. The present study Proposed that prepared sheep skeleton model can be used to promote the veterinary students' comprehension for the anatomy courses since the method has been used in this study resulted in a high-quality skeleton model in its color, texture and tolerability with no irritant foul smell. KEYWORDS: Sheep; Skeleton Model; Bones; Detergent; hydrogen peroxide. https://doi.org/10.26682/ajuod.2019.22.2.8 INTRODUCTION keleton models are very important and essential in anatomy halls and museums to promote anatomy comprehension, which is considered the most important course in the preclinical stages (Bloom, 1956; Hafsa and Stanek, 2007). Skeleton gives students a hands- on method for learning bone names and locations, as well as a visual tool to relate bone and joint structure to muscle structure (Greene et al., 1993). There are different techniques or methods used in bone preparation, which including leaving bones above or burying in the ground, insect consumption, cold- or warm- water maceration, as well as boiling in hot water. Other methods of bone preparation are the introduction of enzymes or chemicals to fasten the removal of the attached soft tissues from the bones (Allouch and Al-sheikh, 2008). The preservation of bones is usually processed through several chemical and mobility steps included boiling, soaking, and completion steps (Allouch and Al-sheikh, 2008; Hussain et al., 2007). The easiest way to remove bone grease was to soak the bones in ammonia (Gram, 2006). Preparation of bones involves soft tissue removal or bone cleaning, bone bleaching, bone articulation, and labeling. Depending on the size of the animal, each of the preceding processes may vary in the amount of time required (Allouch and Al-sheikh, 2008). The available skeleton models, most of the times, have a non- pleasant smell because of degreasing technique in their preservation methods or sometimes they crack, crumble and changing in the bone color due to different reasons, such as high concentration of H2O2, or boiling time. The purpose of this study was to prepare a real skeleton model of a small ruminant to teach the osteology and comparative anatomy of bones. We expect that our skeleton preservation method could overcome the previous S