Comparative study of skull of camel, ox

1. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF
SKULL OF CAMEL, OX
AND HORSE

2. Skull
Part of Skeleton which enclose head is Skull
FUNCTIONS:
1. Protect brain
2. Support many of sense organs
3. Form passages for entry to respiratory and
digestive system

3. Parts Of Skull
CRANIAL PART
 Ethmoid
 Occipital
 Sphenoid
 Frontal
 Interparietal
 Parietal
 Pterygoid
 Temporal
 Vomer
FACIAL PART
 Incisive
 Lacrimal
 Mandible
 Maxilla
 Palatine
 Nasal
 Turbinates (conchae)
 Zygomatic
 Hyoid apparatus

5. Facial And Cranial Parts
Facial parts of skull
 Enclose nasal and oral cavities
 Facial region is divided into oral, nasal and
orbital regions
Cranial part of skull
 Surrounds the brain

6. Structure Of Cranium
 Roof
 Caudal aspect
 Lateral wall
 Floor
 Rostral aspect

7. Parietal Bone:
 Form roof of cranium in camel.
 In horse, its external surface is convex
forming external parietal crest.
 In ox, parietal bone don’t enter in
formation of roof of cranium but form
temporal fossa.

8. Facial Crest
 In horses, the ridge
on lateral surface of
face
 Facial crest is also
present in ox.
 In camels it is
absent.

9. Facial/ Maxillary Tuberosity
 Ruminants:
process on the
lateral surface of
face.
 Present in horse
 Absent in camel

10. Ethmoid Bone
 In ox, Unpaired bone forming the rostral wall of
cranial cavity.
 It is absent in horses.
 In camel, it form foramen on dorsal surface.

11. Lateral View

12. Bony Orbit
Formed by lacrimal and frontal bones.
 Complete in horses and ruminants.
 Incomplete in carnivores but is completed by the
orbital ligament.
 At the middle in camel.
 Depression between orbit and nasal profile is
short and straight.

14. Cornual Process
 The process of the frontal bone of horned
ruminants that is enclosed by the horn
 Absent in horse
 Absent in camel

15. Temporal Fossa
 Depression formed by temporal and parietal
bones.
 In ruminants, it has been pushed to the lateral
side of the skull by the frontal bone.
 In camel, temporal fossae are extensive and
concave caudally

16. Interparietal Bone
 Bone found only in horse and cat, between the
two parietal bones, rostral to the occipital bone.
 In other species it is present in fetus but fuses
with surrounding bones before birth.
 In camel, interparietal bone is completely fused
to squamous part of occipital bone.

17. Equine Skull (Dorsal View)

18. Frontal Bone
 Rostral part of the roof of the cranial cavity in
most domestic species.
 In ox and pig it forms the entire roof.
 In camel roof is formed by occipital, parietal
and temporal bones.
 Frontal bones are small.
 Parietal bone form roof of cranium.

19. Nasal Bones
 In camel, they end with a short median
processes and long lateral processes.
 In horse, they form greater part of roof of nasal
cavity.
 In ox, nasal bone is little more than half the
length of that of horse.

20. Vomer
 In ox, vomer forms a wider and deeper groove
than in horse.
 In horse, vomer is median bone, assist in
forming ventral part of septum nasi. Form
groove which receive lower part of etmoid
bone and septal cartilage.
 Vomer: Can be seen along the floor of the
osseous opening, in camel.

21. Caudal Border Of Cranium
 Nuchal crest is dome-
shaped and forms
prominent caudal border
 In camel caudal surfaces
are slightly convex.
 In ox, pentagonal in
outline in adult

22. Foramen Magnum
 Straight medial
border forms lateral
boundries of foramen
magnum in camel
 In ox, caudal border
of occipital bone
form it

24. Nasal Cavity
 Incompletely divided by septum in ox
 Longitudinal passage extend through upper part
of face and completely divided in horse.
 In camel, Relatively short, they end with a short
median processes andlong lateral processes
 Maxilla: constricted in nasal region to form
slender dorsolateral borders

25. Maxilla
 Very extensive and high in camel and ox
 Concave rostrally and convex posteriorly
 In horse, the infraorbital foramen was present in
the maxilla bone just above the level of 2nd
cheek tooth.
 no maxillary tuberosity and facial crest in camel,
as these were present in ox and horse,
respectively.

27. References
 Sisson, S. and J. D. Grossman, 1985. The
Anatomy of the Domestic Animals. 5th Ed., W.B.
Saunders Company, Philadelphia, USA.
 Yahaya, Ahmed, James O. Olopade, Hyelduku
D. Kwari, and Ibrahim M. Wiam. ‘Osteometry of
the Skull of One-Humped Camels. Part I:
Immature Animals’. Italian Journal of Anatomy
and Embryology 117, no. 1 (2012): 23–33.

28.  Shahid, R. U., R. Kausar, and others.
‘Comparative Gross Anatomical Studies of the
Skull of One-Humped Camel (Camelus
Dromedarius)’. Pakistan Veterinary Journal 25,
no. 4 (2005): 205.
 Pasquini, C., Spurgeon, T. and Pasquini, S.
Anatomy of Domestic Animals: 5th editSystemic
and Regional onApproach. Sudz Publishing,
1989.