How many holes does a rat have? - briefly
A typical rat has seven external openings—two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, a mouth, an anus and a urethra (females add a vaginal opening, totaling eight).
How many holes does a rat have? - in detail
Rats possess a finite set of anatomical openings that serve respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive functions. Counting only distinct external apertures yields the following tally:
- Mouth: 1
- Nostrils: 2
- External ear canals: 2
- Eyes (corneal openings): 2
- Anus: 1
- Urethral opening: 1 (male) or 1 (female)
- Vaginal opening: 1 (female only)
For a typical male rat, the total number of external holes is 9. A female rat has 10, the extra opening being the vagina.
Internal passages such as the trachea, esophagus, and gastrointestinal tract connect to these external apertures but do not add separate external holes. Skin pores, sweat glands, and microscopic structures are excluded from the count because they are not discrete, macroscopic openings.