The document compares the skull structures of camels, oxen, and horses. It describes the cranial and facial parts of the skull and differences in bones like the parietal, ethmoid, and maxilla across species. For example, the parietal bone forms the roof of the cranium in camels but not in oxen. The ethmoid bone is absent in horses. The maxilla has a facial crest in horses but not camels. Overall, the document provides a detailed anatomical comparison of skull parts and structures between camels, oxen, and horses.

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.