Volume: 49 Issue: 1
Year: 2018, Page: 1-5,
Received: Oct. 15, 2017 Accepted: Oct. 17, 2017 Published: Jan. 1, 2018
Vertebral columns of six adult healthy mithun, four male and two female were prepared by simple natural maceration process in water, and then they were cleaned with bleaching powder solution and sun dried. It was observed that mithun had 7 cervical, 13/14 thoracic, lumbar 5/6, sacrum 5 and coccygeal verterbrae 15-20 in number. The posterior border of atlas being notched for a pair of small tubercles. Foramen transversarium continued in the lateral processes of axis as a short and narrow canal. The dorsal spine of third to seventh cervical vertebrae inclined anteriorly and was most wide in the 7th cervical vertebra. Generally caudal articular facets of thoracic vertebrae were flat directed ventrolaterally demarcated by a line. The dorsal spines of all the thoracic vertebrae were massive and were wider towards their summit. The transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae were extensive and arched anteriorly. The bodies of sacrum were transversely oval and fused to form a concave ventral surface. The sacrum became narrower caudally so that the apex part was least wider. In the present study the notched lateral border of occipital articular cavities, the paired tubercles on the mid caudal dorsal arch and the typical “bow” shaped caudo-dorsal arch of atlas in mithun specified it from other ruminants. The well developed dorsal spines broad at their summits in thoracic vertebrae of mithun provided extensive anchoring of neuchal ligaments. The continuous and progressive ventral curvature of vertebral column in mithun was unlike the other ruminants. The general vertebral curvature of the body axis in mithun made this animal more adaptive to its hilly habitat.
Keywords: Anat vertebral column, mithun.
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