Morphology of the Skin of surti buffalo as compared to that of the Other Breeds of the buffalo and the ox and its role in Thermoregulation

Abstract

The Skin of the adult Surti buffalo was nearly twice thicker than that of the one year old Surti buffalo calf, The thickness of the skin as well as that of its various layers in the Surti buffalo was almost similarto that of the other breed of water buffalo but it was thicker than that of the skin of the Ox and Egyptian buffalo. Hair follicles and sweat glands per unit area were a few like those of the other breeds of the water buffalo and unlike those of the Ox. Their number in the adult, decreased to about one third of the same in the calf. The melanin pigmentation was quite intense on the dorsal surface, moderate on the latral surface and least on the ventral surface. the dermis was quite rich in capillaries and arterio-venous anastomosis were seen in the dermis of adult as well as that of the calf.