1Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Division of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shuhama, Alusteng, Srinagar-190 006, Jammu & Kashmir (India)
Division of Veterinary Anatomy and Histology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shuhama, Alusteng, Srinagar-190 006, Jammu & Kashmir (India)
*E-mail: rezzaq123@gmail.com
Online published on 20 June, 2018.
A comparative gross anatomical study was conducted on the axis (second cervical vertebra) of chiru and sheep. The samples were processed by maceration technique. The axis was an atypical vertebra with longest body among all the cervical vertebrae of chiru. The body of the axis of chiru as well as sheep was flattened dorsoventrally. However, the middle part of its ventral aspect was concave in chiru and straight in sheep. The dorsal surface on the odontoid process of axis, unlike sheep, presented two depressions. The anterior border of the dens of chiru was rough whereas, it was deeply notched in sheep. The anterior articular area on its ventral surface possessed a wide notch in sheep which was absent in chiru. The supraspinous process was very prominent and raised in the form of a thin plate in chiru. Its Infraspinous process was ridge like and more developed than in sheep. In chiru the posterior surface of the ventral border of the anterior articular area had a triangular area connecting the ventral spine. The study revealed the significant differences in various structures of the axis in the two species. The values of biometrical parameters were generally higher in chiru as compared to sheep. The information generated by the present study shall be useful for the forensic study.
Axis, chiru, gross anatomy, sheep
