Anatomy and three-dimensional reconstruction of hyoid bone in the bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)

The hyoid bone of the bactrian camel was studied for the first time by means of anatomy and three-dimensional reconstruction. The results showed that the hyoid bone was composed of one body (basihyoideum) and four pairs of cornua, viz., thyroid cornu (thyrohyoideum), small cornu (ceratohyoideum), middle cornu (epihyoideum) and great cornu (stylohyoideum). The basihyoideum had no lingual process. The stylohyoideum was the largest and longest while the epihyoideum and thyrohyoideum were almost equal in length. The ceratohyoideum was the smallest. The characteristics of the hyoid bone in the bactrian camel were similar to the dromedary, but which was different from other domestic animals in morphology.