VAN 121: Veterinary Gross Anatomy-II (2+2)

SKIN APPENDAGES

• The skin presents certain appendages as hair, hoof and horn.

Hair

•  The hairs are extremely variable in colour and size in different breeds and individuals.
• They cover the entire surface of the body and are of two kinds ordinary and special.
• The ordinary hair determines the colour of the coat of the animal.
• The special hairs are either tactile hairs on the lips, nostrils, eyelashes, tragi of external ear, vibrissae of the nostrils or the long hairs an the tail forming the brush.

Horns

• They are conical sheaths, which enclose the horn core of the frontal bones.
• They vary greatly in size, form and curvatures.
• The horn develops from the secreting membrane, the corium, which is kept attached to the horn core and is traversed by numerous blood vessels and nerves.
• The corium of the horn is similar to that of the foot.
• In the sheep, cutaneous pouches are present in certain situation called as the infraorbital or lacrimal pouch and interdigital pouch.
• The skin presents fine hairs and numerous sebaceous glands.

Hoof

• There are four hoofs in each limb in the ox. View animation... 
• The accessory digits bear short conical horny coverings, the structure being the same as the hoof.
• The hoof has three surfaces an outer convex face, an interdigital face and a solar face.
• The hoof has only three parts periople, wall and sole. The frog, lateral cartilages and plantar cushion are absent.
• The cloven foot takes up the function of diffusing concussion.