A connective tissue defect in two rabbits similar to the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

A connective tissue disease resembling the human Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is reported in two sibling rabbits about four months old. The clinical signs included skin hyperextensibility and fragility and poor wound healing. There were ultrastructural abnormalities in the structure of the collagen fibrils and in their arrangement in bundles of fibres. Affected rabbits may be a useful laboratory animal model for collagen disorders in human beings.