Search

Critical-sized bone defects are those that would not heal spontaneously despite surgical stabilisation. These defects are treated using autografts, allografts, xenografts and synthetic bone grafts. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of biphasic hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) bioceramic scaffolds in treating critical-sized segmental bone loss in rats. The study was conducted in sixty male Wistar rats aged between 8-12 weeks, weighing 200-250 g body weight with critical-sized defects in the right femur. A six-mm segmental mid-diaphyseal femoral defect was created under general anaesthesia. The bone defect was bridged with biphasic hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) bioceramic scaffolds and retained in position with microplate and screws. Fifteen rats were sacrificed as per the guidelines of CCSEA during the 4th, 8th, 12th and 16th week post-surgery. The treated bone and contralateral femur were harvested and subjected to a three-point bending test, torsion test and compression test to compare the regained strength of the repaired right femur with that of the intact contralateral left femur. From the present study, it was observed that the use of biphasic hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate bioceramic scaffolds in the treatment of critical-sized long bone defects in rats resulted in biomechanical properties of the healed right femur greatly superior to the femur with untreated critical-sized diaphyseal defect by sixteenth week post-surgery and was only slightly inferior to the normal intact left femur. The results were suggestive of using biphasic hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate bioceramics scaffolds as a safe and promising alternative for the treatment of critical-sized bone defects Keywords: Beta-tricalcium phosphate, bioceramic scaffold, compression test, hydroxyapatite, three-point bending test and torsion test

Critical-sized long bone defects are those that would not heal spontaneously despite surgical stabilisation. The use of bioceramic scaffold has shown promising results in the repair of bone defects. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the serum biochemical parameters of Wistar rats treated for critical-sized segmental bone loss using biphasic hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) bioceramic scaffolds. The study was conducted in eighty male Wistar rats aged between 8-12 weeks, weighing 200-250 g body weight with critical-sized segmental defects in the femur. A 6 mm segmental mid-diaphyseal femoral defect was created under general anaesthesia. The bone defect was bridged with bioceramic scaffolds and retained in position with microplate and screws. Serum biochemical parameters serum calcium, phosphorous, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase were evaluated four weeks before surgery, immediately after surgery and 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th week after surgery. The evaluation of both serum calcium and phosphorous were found to be reliable indicators of new bone formation and mineralisation, whereas the evaluation of both serum acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase were found to be reliable indicators of bone healing during the treatment of critical-sized long bone defects in rats using biphasic hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate bioceramic scaffolds Keywords: Beta-tricalcium phosphate, bioceramic scaffold, hydroxyapatite, serum acid phosphatase, serum alkaline phosphatase, serum calcium, serum phosphorous

Meat samples from six regions viz., neck, wing, breast, back, thigh and drumstick were collected from a total of 72 ducks comprising of six males and females of each of Vigova broilers, Kuttanad ducklings and spent Kuttanad ducks. The samples were assessed by a trained panel of seven assessors for flavour, juiciness, ease of fragmentation, mouth coating, overall tenderness and overall acceptability on eight-point Hedonic scale. Intramuscular fat of meat from the six regions was also estimated using Soxhlet apparatus. The highest mean intramuscular fat was obtained in the neck muscle by the spent Kuttanad ducks females (p

A prospective study on haemato-biochemical aspects of canine atopic dermatitis was conducted in the Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy during the period from 2019 to 2021. Sixteen dogs diagnosed with atopic dermatitis using characteristic clinical (Favrot’s) criteria with exclusion of other pruritic skin diseases, together with elevated Ig E levels and ten healthy animals formed the subjects for the present study. Whole blood samples were collected from atopic and healthy controls and haematobiochemical parameters were estimated. Haemato-biochemical studies of atopic dogs revealed anaemia with leukocytosis, neutrophilia and eosinophilia and hypoalbuminaemia with reduced AG ratio. Absolute eosinophil count that was found positively correlated with neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in atopic dogs, is of diagnostic significance in quantifying inflammatory response which helps in instituting customized treatment to atopic animals in clinical practice. Hypoalbuminaemia observed in atopic animals in the present study indicates the need for nutrient supplementation in the therapeutic protocol of the disease.

Allergic dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disease manifested as itchy skin rashes, caused as a result of hypersensitivity reactions elicited in the body due to exposure to various allergens. Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is a widespread skin condition characterized by an inherited propensity to develop pruritic inflammatory skin disease linked to IgE antibodies, which usually target environmental allergens. The study was conducted on 245 cases of allergic dermatitis in dogs presented to the small animal dermatology unit during the period from 2019 to 2021. Out of the total 2,032 dermatological cases in dogs presented to the clinics from different parts of Kerala, 245 cases were diagnosed as various allergies over a period of three years, and out of which, 63 cases were recorded as canine atopic dermatitis (CAD). All the 63 cases diagnosed as CAD were utilized for age-wise, gender-wise and breed-wise occurrence of disease. The occurrence of allergic dermatitis in the present study was recorded as 13 per cent. The highest occurrence rate recorded was that of flea allergy followed by atopic dermatitis, contact allergy dermatitis and food allergy. In the current study, higher incidence (66.7 per cent) of atopic dermatitis was found in dogs below 3 years of age, followed by dogs older than 5 years and of the age group >3 to 5 years. Gender-wise occurrence of atopic dermatitis revealed a male predominance with a sex ratio of 1.74: 1 in the present study. Labrador breed of dogs were more prone to atopic dermatitis followed by Beagle, Pomeranian, Shih Tzu, Pug, Pit bull, German Shepherd dog, Dachshund, Rottweiler and Golden Retriever.

The present study was conducted on the testes of six healthy adult Large White Yorkshire pigs. Parenchyma of testes of adult boars was surrounded by a thick fibrous testicular capsule composed of inner tunica vasculosa, middle tunica albuginea, and outer visceral layer of tunica vaginalis. Tunica vasculosa was prominent and characterised by loose connective tissue contained numerous blood vessels. Tunica albuginea was composed of irregular connective tissues made up of collagen, elastin and reticular fibres. Visceral layer of tunica vaginalis was found as outer thin layer of testicular capsule comprised of mesothelium and connective tissue layer. Connective tissue layer was blended with underlying connective tissues of tunica albuginea.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of reduced dietary crude protein (CP) diet supplemented with limiting amino acids on growth performance and carcass traits of Gramasree male birds up to eight weeks of age. A total of 280 day-old chicks were allotted randomly under five dietary treatments each with four replicates of 14 chicks under completely randomized design. The different dietary treatments viz., control diet (T1) was formulated as per ICAR (2013) nutrient requirements for Indian improved native birds with 21 per cent CP and 2800 kcal/kg Metabolizable energy (ME) using corn, soya bean meal, wheat bran and de-oiled rice bran. Treatment diets T2, T3, T4 and T5 were formulated by reducing CP content to 20, 19, 18, and 17 per cent, respectively with isocaloric value of 2800 kcal/kg ME and supplemented with methionine, lysine, threonine and tryptophan to meet the daily requirements. Weekly body weight and feed consumption were recorded. For the carcass study, two birds from each replicate were randomly selected and slaughtered humanely at eighth week of age. The results showed that the final body weight and cumulative weight gain were comparable among the treatments. The lowest cumulative feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were observed in 17 per cent CP containing treatment (T5), which was not significantly different from rest of the groups. The mean per cent breast meat yield, giblet yield, dressing yield and ready-to-cook yield were comparable among the five dietary treatments. The mean abdominal fat content in birds fed with 18 and 17 per cent (T4 and T5) were significantly (p

Hypoplasia of ovary is one of the major causes of infertility in dairy cattle, which is characterized by absence of oestrus cycle, affecting livestock productivity and economics to a great extent. This study was conducted on the female genitalia collected from 100 dairy cows/heifers from the Meat Technology Unit, Mannuthy which included six animals culled on account of factors other than infertility with normal genitalia (control group) and remaining animals with a known history of infertility. Two animals of 22 months and 24 months of age showed bilateral ovarian hypoplasia. The history revealed that the animals were healthy, but had not shown oestrus. Grossly ovaries of the first animal appeared as pink-coloured, small, wrinkled, flattened, elongated structures without any follicles or CL. Second animal showed inactive, small, flat, streak-like left ovary without any cyclical structures. But the right ovary showed a single large corpus haemorrhagicum on the caudal end. Then ovarian tissue was fixed in 2 percent gluteraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer at pH 7.3. Under scanning electron microscopy, the ovary exhibited an uneven surface with clefts and grooves. The surface cells lost their normal appearance without any microvilli. Large round smooth germ cells were also observed on the ovarian surface. In the oviduct, the mucosa was lined by nonciliated cells having rounded surface interspersed among shrunken cells. The epithelial cell surface was covered with bulbous processes. Ciliated cells were not observed in the present study. Ovarian abnormality is reported to be the main cause of altered morphology of the surface epithelial cells and change in the ultrastructure of oviductal mucosa.

The study was conducted on genitalia collected from 100 dairy cows/heifers from the Meat Technology Unit, Mannuthy. The animals brought for slaughter at Meat Technology Unit, Mannuthy were from herds of five different farms (University and Government Undertaking farms) in Kerala state. This included six animals culled on account of factors other than infertility with normal reproductive system (control group) and the remaining animals with a known history of infertility. In total, seven animals showed kinked cervix condition. Cervix was evaluated morphometrically and histologically. Grossly, the cervix was hard, kinked and S-shaped, with a mean length of 9.64 ± 1.19 cm. Average number of annular rings in the cervical canal was 4.14 ± 0.26 with an average diameter of 1.74 ± 0.18 cm. At the external os, diameter of the cervix was less, while at the uterine end, diameter was more. The opening of each cervical ring showed a misalignment instead of a straight line. Histologically, the cervix was lined by simple columnar epithelium with signs of degeneration and desquamation. However, the submucosal layer was extensively infiltrated by collagen fibres. In uterus, there was a significant difference in the number of endometrial glands and height of the glandular epithelial cells which was less when compared to the control group. Muscular layer outer to connective tissue layer was thin and uneven. Alterations of the glandular structures negatively influence the viability of spermatozoa due to the lack of secretory products. This fibrous, collagen rich kinked cervix limits the smooth deposition of the semen into the uterus during artificial insemination and the insufficiently dilated cervix affects its contractibility leading to dystocia and subfertility

Hair distribution patterns in the deer, goat and sheep were studied using skin samples collected from spotted deer brought for post mortem at College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, from the Thrissur zoo and forest department and from goats and sheep freshly slaughtered at the Meat Technology Unit, Mannuthy. Samples of 1cm3 were collected from 27 regions of skin, viz. muzzle, infraorbital, horn glands, dorsal face, lateral face, ventral face, ear pinna, dorsal neck, lateral neck, ventral neck, dorsal abdomen, lateral abdomen, ventral abdomen, dorsal forelimb, palmar, dorsal hindlimb, plantar, interdigital part of fore limb, interdigital part of hind limb, forelimb foot pad, hindlimb foot pad, inguinal, preputial scrotal regions of male dorsal thorax, perineum and dorsal nasal regions. The hair arrangement in the three species was simple, but arranged in groups. Mostly two to three hairs formed a group and they emerged out very closely but not from a single orifice unlike in the case of compound hairs. The muzzle region lacked hair on the rostral aspect and sparse wool hairs were found on the dorsal surface. Dorsal nasal and carpal regions consisted of dense population of short, stout hairs. Maximum hair density per microscope field under low power was noticed in the lateral aspect of neck, dorsal abdomen, palmar, interdigital aspect of hind limb, lateral abdomen and dorsal aspect of hind limb in deer. Hair was absent in the muzzle followed by dorsal face region in all three species in the present study. Maximum hair density per microscope field under low power was noticed on the dorsal aspect of fore limb, palmar aspect, pinna of ear, dorsal abdomen and interdigital space of hind limb in goat with minimum hair distribution on the ventral abdomen followed by lateral face region. Maximum hair density per microscope field under low power was noticed on the dorsal aspect of neck, interdigital space of fore limb, lateral aspect of neck and infraorbital in sheep with minimum hair distribution on the ventral abdomen, dorsal face and lateral face. In general, density of hair distribution was more in the deer than the goat and sheep

The present study was conducted on the pelvic limb bones of a five year old male umbrella cockatoo. The femur was light in weight and presented a straight shaft, two extremities and four surfaces. The proximal extremity had a head with distinct fovea capitis, neck and indistinct trochanter major, while the distal extremity had a trochlea, two condyles and a wide intercondyloid groove. Patella was a small pea-sized sesamoid bone. The tibiotarsus was the largest of the leg bones and was one third longer than femur. It presented a long shaft with distinct fibular crest and two extremities. Both extremities showed medial and lateral condyles. From proximal extremity, the straight cnemial crest extended ventrally. The condyles of distal extremity were separated by intercondyloid fossa and continued caudally to wide grooved trochlea. Instead of extensor canal in other birds, a deep groove was observed. The fibula was with small head and rudimentary shaft and terminated near the middle of the shaft of tibiotarsus. The tarsometatarsus was extremely short. Its shaft presented convex dorsal surface whereas the plantar surface was concave without ridges. The distal extremity presented three articular trochleae. Between the trochlea for third and fourth digits, a bony canal was noticed. The spur core seen in cockerel was not observed in the present study. Four digits from one to four showed zygodactyl type of arrangement and contained two, three, four and five phalanges, respectively. Distal phalanx in each digit was a claw. The light femur and highly reduced fibula in umbrella cockatoo showed adaptations for flight whereas the positioning of the digits showed adaptation for climbing and grasping

Studies were conducted on 2972 failed to hatch chicken eggs with embryonic deaths to detect the various abnormalities occurring during their development. The study included descriptive examination and comparison of unhatched eggs of chicken. Objective of the experiment was to study the occurrence of abnormalities of embryos at various stages of incubation in chicks by gross examination. Of the total eggs collected, a major contribution towards lesser hatchability was accounted by infertile eggs, followed by mortality during early period, late stage and then mid-stage mortality. A significant positive correlation existed between weight, length and width of eggs. Anomalies encountered in the present study were categorized as developmental failure, developmental arrest, developmental excess including twinning and atypical differentiation with skeletal abnormalities.

DNA barcoding is a technique for characterizing species of organisms using a short DNA sequence from a standard and agreed-upon position in the genome. In the present study, DNA barcoding was used as a technology to differentiate deer and goat species from the skin samples. The samples were collected from different regions of the skin, viz. ear pinna, dorsal abdomen, muzzle and interdigital space of foerelimb of deer brought for post mortem at College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, from Thrissur zoo and forest department and of goat freshly slaughtered in Meat Technology Unit, Mannuthy. Samples were chopped and preserved in ethanol and processed. The mitochondrial sequence of Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit (COI) was deliberated as a barcode marker suited best for species identification of the animals and based on this the samples were identified as Cervus unicolor, Rusa timorensis and Capra hircus. The results recommended that unidentified specimens from wild animals can be recognized competently using DNA sequencebased analysis.

Estimation of hydroxyproline and collagen in skin of turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) was done using skin samples procured from 12 birds each of either sex of four to six months of age. The samples were stored at -200 C and the hydroxyproline content of moisture-free and fat-free samples of the skin was estimated. From the values arrived at, the collagen content was calculated on fresh matter basis. Average content of hydroxyproline was 5.20 and 5.30 per cent in male and female turkeys respectively. Collagen content was found to be as 8.16 per cent in male and 8.14 per cent in female turkeys. On statistical analysis, significant difference was not detected in the mean percentage of hydroxyproline and collagen content between sexes. Hence, the skin of turkey with its high content of collagen can be recommended as a source for collagen production in the avian industry. Moreover, with a contribution of 8.43 to 9.65 per cent to the total carcass weight, the potentials of skin of turkey could be effectively harnessed for further processed products.

Histological studies were undertaken on the skin of six male commercial broiler chicken of six to eight weeks of age, slaughtered at Meat Technology Unit, Mannuthy. The skin consisted of an outer thin epidermis and inner thick dermis. The per cent contribution of epidermis and dermis to total width of skin was 2.01±0.01 and 97.99±0.01 respectively. The epidermis presented two major layers viz., stratum germinativum and stratum corneum. The dermis consisted of three distinct layers from superficial to deep viz., stratum superficiale, stratum profundum and lamia elastica. The stratum profundum consisted of a superficial stratum compactum and a deep stratum laxum which was the thickest among all the layers of skin. The lamina elastica separated the subcutaneous tissue from the dermis and was the thinnest layer

Present study was conducted with the aim to understand the morphological features of skull of barred jungle owlet.The head of the owletwascollected from the specimen brought for post-mortem, processed and morphological studies were conducted . Frontal bones were the largest and were convex and smooth.Temporal fossae were deep. Characteristic feature of the skull was that the bony orbits were located anteriorly, relatively large and were incomplete anteriorly. The supraorbital process was narrow, triangular and pointed.Thisprocess may prevent the rotation of sclerotic tube and fix its position which might be the reason why owlets cannot move their eye ball freely. The frontonasal hinge joint helped in the mobility of upper beak and anterior to this joint, the nasal bones presented adeep depression in the midline. Occipital bone showed well-developedexternal occipital protuberance and a vertically grooved occipital condylewhich helped the birds to swivel its head and neck. The ex-occipital and basi-occipital bones were broad. The foramen magnum was situated basally and ventrally. This assistedthe upright posture of the head in this species

The present study was conducted to evaluate the chemical properties of keratin obtained from duck feather barbs. Feather barbs were collected from a total of 24 birds comprising of broiler Vigova Super-M ducks of six to eight weeks of age and spent Kuttanad ducks above 40 weeks of age. Different properties of feather barbs like protein content and amino acid content were studied according to the standard analytical methods. The percentage contribution of total feathers to the body weight was more in the broiler duck (5.03±0.24 %). Broiler duck feather contained 77.59 per cent and feather of Kuttanad duck contained 73.50 per cent protein. The relative high value of protein content in duck feather can be utilized as a good source of protein in the feed. Feather barbs of broiler and Kuttanad ducks showed similar proportion of amino acids. Serine was found to be the most abundant amino acid followed by glycine and proline. Percentage of hydrophobic amino acids was higher (56%) when compared to the hydrophilic amino acids (42%) in both the groups under study. Presence of amino acid cysteine, which has the ability to form disulfide bonds indicated the stable structure of keratin. The results indicated the importance of focusing on advanced technology to uplift the use of duck feather fibre as a natural protein source which is at present considered as a poultry industry waste and will help to build a ecofriendly environment.

Twelve dogs with full thickness cutaneous wounds such as dog bitten wounds, traumatic accident wounds and chronic wounds were selected and randomly divided into two groups. In Group I, a pre-sterilized bovine collagen-alginate sheet and in Group II, a presterilized bovine collagen sheet were applied as wound dressing. Re-application of dressing was continued at 48 hours intervals for a two more timesand afterwards weekly bandaging was followed. The animals were observed for a period of 28 days and a cutaneous punch biopsy from the mid-portion of healing wound was taken on day 28 for histopathological examination to evaluate the progress of wound healing. The results of the study revealed that both bovine collagen and bovine collagenalginate had good graft acceptance, with no adverse reactions and helped in the augmentation of wound healing process.

The tongue of Japanese quail showed a progressive growth pattern from day-old to 60 days of age. The tongue was arrohead shaped and was lined by stratified squamous epithelium, which was keratinized on the papillae and at the anterior two-third of the ventral surface. The well developed lamina pi-opi-ia in the body and root of the tongue contained compound tubulo-alveolar salivary glands of holocrine nature. Taste buds were seen mostly associated with the glandular ducts. Filiform, conical and fungiform papillae were observed on the base of the tongue. The skeleton of the tongue, formed by anterior portions of the hyoid bone, showed signs of ossification from 30 days of age. The tip of the entoglossal bone remained cartilaginous even upto 60 days of age. Skeletal muscle was found only in the base around the bone.

Prenatal studies on the biometry of the developing lymph nodes in goat were conducted in 41 foetuses. There was a progressive increase in the size of the lymph nodes, viz. mean length, width, thickness and weight of lymph nodes as the age advanced. The weight of The lymph nodes exhibited positive correlation with body weight and age. In the five major lymphocentres studied, it was found that the superficial lymph nodes occurred as single ones and deep or visceral lymph nodes occurred in groups. The topographical position of These lymph nodes showed slight variation in position in some animals studied. The mean values forgross parameters showed slightly higher values for male animals and in the lymph nodes of the right side

Micrometrical studies during the prenatal development of spinal cord in goat revealed that the cervical enlargement had the maximum height at all ages, with maximum gray matter and dorsal horn height except at fifth month, where it was at the Iumbosacral enlargement. The maximum ventral horn height was also seen at the enlargements. Sparing a few exceptions, the percentage contribution of gray matter height, dorsal horn height and ventral horn height to the total spinal cord height showed a decreasing trend during gestation owing to a corresponding increase in the ventral funiculus. The gray matter height expressed as percentage of spinal cord height, was maximum at the Iumbosacral enlargement. The greatest values for total width of spinal cord and distance from central canal to spinal cord left margin varied between cervical and Iumbosacral enlargements at different stages of gestation. The total width of spinal cord was greater than the height during gestation except in the thoracic region during second month. Dorsal and ventral horns were wider at enlargements. The percentage of gray matter width decreased after third month of gestation indicating a comparative increase in the growth of lateral funiculus during later stages of gestation. Vertical gray matter percentage decreased after second month indicating an early growth of ventral funiculus.

The tongue of Japanese quail showed a progressive growth pattern from day-old to 60 days of age. The tongue was arrohead shaped and was lined by stratified squamous epithelium, which was keratinized on the papillae and at the anterior two-third of the ventral surface. The well developed lamina propria in the body and root of the tongue contained compound tubulo-alveolar salivary glands of holocrine nature. Taste buds were seenbmostly associated with the glandular ducts. Filiform, conical and fungiform papillae were observed on the base of the tongue. The skeleton of the tongue, formed by anterior portions of the hyoid bone, showed signs of ossification from 30 days of age. The tip of the entoglossal bone remained cartilaginous even upto 60 days of age. Skeletal muscle was found only in the base around the bone.

A study was conducted on the pectoral girdle of eight year old male green-winged macaw and adult peahen to compare the gross features of the bones and to correlate their morphological peculiarities with its possible functions. The skeleton of the pectoral girdle consisted of clavicle, coracoid and scapula in both the species but presented striking deviations. In peahen, the scapula presented a flat coracoid process, coracoid had a hooklike furcular Tuberosity and furcula was Vshaped with a prominent hypociedium. In green-winged macaw the scapula had a truncated caudal extremity with a convex coracoid process whereas, the coracoid showed a tuberous furcular tuberosity and a well developed scapular process. The furcula was U-shaped with a prominent caudal process, while the hypocledium was absent. All the bones were comparatively stronger in green-winged macaw which could be an adaptation towards the functions necessary to perform the flight stroke.

The trachea was made up of 110-116 complete hyaline cartilaginous rings, which extended from cranial larynx to syrinx. The craniocaudal width of the rings progressively increased along the cranial third of the trachea and then decreased caudally. Histologically it was lined by a pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium. Lamina propria was made up of loose connective tissue and contained alveolar mucous glands. The submucosa was continuous with the perichondrium of the cartilaginous rings and presented elastic fibres. The overlapping cartilaginous rings were flattened triangular in longitudinal section. Externally, there was a thin tunica adventitia. Trachealis muscle was absent. Sternotrachealis muscle was of striated type.

The structure and postnatal development of proventriculus in Japanese quail were studied using 72 quails aged from day-old to 60 days. The proventriculus was spindle-shaped and had a mucosa studded with nodules. Lamina propria contained simple tubular glands. Muscularis mucosa consisted of isolated bundles of longitudinal smooth muscle. Compound tubular glands were present in the submucosa. Tunica muscularis consisted of inner and outer longitudinal and middle circular layers of smooth muscle. Outermost was the serosa.

Correspondence between spinal cord segments and vertebrae in foetal goats was studied using 52 foetuses ranging from 9.4 cm CRL (24 days of gestation) to 49.5 cm (full term). In the present study, upfo the latter half of second month of gestation, the spinal cord extended the entire length of vertebral canal. Towards the end of the second month, the cranial ascend was initiated. In the third and fourth month, the lumbar region reached only upfo the middle of L6 vertebra. During the fifth monfh, lumbar region reached upfo fhe caudal end of L5~ vertebra. A corresponding cranial ascend was noticed in the sacral and coccygeal regions. The spinal cord termination was at fourth coccygeal vertebra upfo 54 days of gestation. Towards the end, it was at third coccygeal vertebra. By third month, the level was between first and second coccygeal vertebrae. By fourth month, it varied from firsf coccygeal to fourth sacral vertebrae. During fifth month, the level of termination varied from rostral end of S4 through middle of S3 to caudal end of S2. This rostral ascend was due to the faster rate of the growth of the vertebral column fhan the spinal cord during prenatal period