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Topic:Morphometry

Morphometry in horses refers to the quantitative analysis of the form, structure, and size of horses. This scientific discipline involves measuring various physical dimensions and proportions of horses to assess their conformation, growth patterns, and breed characteristics. Common morphometric parameters include body length, height at the withers, girth circumference, and limb proportions. These measurements can provide insights into the suitability of horses for specific disciplines, their health status, and genetic traits. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, applications, and implications of morphometric analysis in equine science.
Variability of fiber size, capillary density and capillary length related to horse muscle fixation procedures.
Acta anatomica    January 1, 1988   Volume 133, Issue 2 89-95 doi: 10.1159/000146621
Mermod L, Hoppeler H, Kayar SR, Straub R, Weibel ER.Muscle samples were taken from the superficial part of the semitendinosus muscle of four standardbred horses to compare the effects of three different fixation procedures on fiber size and capillarity. Infiltration fixation in an extended position of the muscle was compared to immersion fixation and infiltration fixation in a flexed position of the limb. The capillary length density was used to estimate muscle capillarity. Infiltration fixation was found to be a viable alternative to perfusion fixation of muscles for morphometry of fiber size and capillary length density allowing muscle tissue...
Body condition scoring and weight estimation of horses.
Equine veterinary journal    January 1, 1988   Volume 20, Issue 1 41-45 doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1988.tb01451.x
Carroll CL, Huntington PJ.Three hundred and seventy two horses of varying breeds, height and fatness were weighed and measured for height at the withers. They were assessed for condition score by adaptation of a previously published method. The heart girth and length of 281 of the horses were also measured. Weight of horses was highly correlated (P less than 0.001) with height (r2 = 0.62), condition score (r2 = 0.22) and girth2 x length (r2 = 0.90). Nomograms were constructed to predict weight from height and condition score, and girth and length measurements. Weight can also be accurately estimated from the formula: (...
Relationships between stride length, stride frequency, velocity, and morphometrics of foals.
American journal of veterinary research    September 1, 1986   Volume 47, Issue 9 2090-2097 
Leach D, Cymbaluk NF.Velocity-dependent changes in stride length and frequency were studied in 19 male foals, 6 to 8 months of age, and were related to body morphometrics. Eighteen distance and 8 angle measurements were digitized from 16-mm films of standing foals. The total mass and the percentage of total mass acting through the forelimbs were also recorded. Stride length and frequency data were extracted from 16-mm films of 239 strides of the walk, trot, and canter-gallop. Polynomial-regression analysis was used to determine the equation that best described the relationship between data of stride length or freq...
Variations in cross-sectional area and composition of equine tendons with regard to their mechanical function.
Research in veterinary science    July 1, 1986   Volume 41, Issue 1 7-13 
Riemersma DJ, De Bruyn P.The cross-sectional area, collagen content, dry weight as a percentage of the wet weight and the tendon fibre percentage of the cross-sectional area of the equine hindlimb were determined in the superficial and deep digital flexor tendons and the suspensory ligament at 10, 12 and six sites between tarsus and insertion respectively. The values of each of the four parameters varied between different sites in the same tendon, between different tendons within a horse and between analogous tendons of different horses. Within a tendon the cross-sectional area was inversely proportional to the collag...
Histochemical and morphometric evaluation of skeletal muscle from horses with exertional rhabdomyolysis (tying-up).
Veterinary pathology    July 1, 1986   Volume 23, Issue 4 400-410 doi: 10.1177/030098588602300409
McEwen SA, Hulland TJ.Thirteen horses with histories of exertional rhabdomyolysis were exercised for 20 minutes to induce clinical signs of lameness, elevated serum creatine kinase (CK), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities and skeletal muscle morphologic lesions. The clinical signs exhibited by affected horses included trembling, sweating, increased rate of respiration, and restricted limb movement. Serum CK reached maximal activity between 4 and 8 hours after the exercise period and serum AST activity peaked between 24 and 48 hours. Histologically, the skeletal muscle lesions in muscle biopsies 24 hour...
Sacroiliac joint of the horse. 2. Morphometric features.
Anatomia, histologia, embryologia    June 1, 1986   Volume 15, Issue 2 97-107 doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0264.1986.tb00534.x
Dalin G, Jeffcott LB.No abstract available
Dynamic model of the equine hindlimb during the swing phase.
Acta anatomica    January 1, 1986   Volume 127, Issue 4 279-284 doi: 10.1159/000146298
van Gurp M, Schamhardt HC, Hartman W, Crowe A.A dynamic model is developed to describe the swing phase of the hindlimb of a normally walking horse. The limb was represented by four rigid segments constrained to move in a sagittal plane only. The mathematical equations of motion of this four-element pendulum were formulated using Lagrange's theorem. The morphometric parameters from the hindlimb segments of 3 horses were determined using high-speed film analysis. Five muscle groups were incorporated in the model. Muscle activity was derived from earlier EMG measurements. Optimization of muscle moments resulted in a simulated swing movement ...
Morphologic features of the cervical intervertebral disks and adjacent vertebral bodies of horses.
American journal of veterinary research    November 1, 1985   Volume 46, Issue 11 2372-2377 
Yovich JV, Powers BE, Stashak TS.The intervertebral disks and adjacent vertebral bodies of the 2nd to 7th cervical vertebrae from 17 horses (3 months to 19 years of age) were examined grossly and by light microscopy. In each specimen, the disk tissue was fibrocartilagenous centrally and became more fibrous peripherally, but without a distinct demarcation between the nucleus pulposus and anulus fibrosus. Demarcation between the anulus fibrosus and the dorsal longitudinal ligament was not apparent. With increasing age of the horses, cellularity of the central fibrocartilagenous portion of the disk decreased. The caudal end plat...
Equine bone marrow: a quantitative analysis of erythroid maturation.
The Anatomical record    October 1, 1985   Volume 213, Issue 2 202-206 doi: 10.1002/ar.1092130212
Tablin F, Weiss L.The equine bone marrow responds to blood loss by increased erythropoiesis, only releasing reticulocytes into the peripheral circulation in severe chronic anemia. We have used morphometric analysis based on electron microscopy of the equine marrow to examine the maturation and release of reticulocytes. Developing red cells in the bone marrows of normal and chronically anemic horses were divided into four stages: early, intermediate, late-stage erythroblasts, and reticulocytes. Morphometric analysis of each stage included volume density of mitochondria per micron3 of cytoplasm, surface area of t...
Sensory nerve endings in the peroneus tertius muscle of the ass and horse: a functional hypothesis. Palmieri G, Panu R, Asole A, Farina V, Sanna L.The various types of sensory nerve endings found in the peroneus tertius muscle in the ass and in the horse have been studied with Ruffini's gold chloride method. Free nerve endings have been described as well as encapsulated receptors. These corpuscles are classified as Pacini-like, Ruffini's terminations and also Golgi's tendon-organs. The authors have pointed out the morphology, topography and structural characteristics of the above named nervous terminations and have hypothesized that a probable functional relation existed between these nervous corpuscles and the considered tendinous struc...
Neutrophilic leukocyte structure and function in domestic animals.
Advances in veterinary science and comparative medicine    January 1, 1985   Volume 30 91-129 
Bertram TA.Differences in neutrophil morphology between various species of domestic animals are evident when morphometric techniques are used. Morphometric analysis can be coupled with functional assays of degranulation to demonstrate changes in granule volume after neutrophil activation (Bertram and Jensen, 1984). Morphometric and functional analysis of the neutrophil can also be used to evaluate the response of neutrophils to infectious agents (Coignoul et al., 1984a). Comparison of these assays between animal species may provide insight into the susceptibility of animals to various microbial pathogens...
Relationship between intervertebral joint morphology and mobility in the equine thoracolumbar spine.
Equine veterinary journal    September 1, 1984   Volume 16, Issue 5 461-465 doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1984.tb01981.x
Townsend HG, Leach DH.The anatomical features of 21 equine thoracolumbar spines, obtained from horses with clinically normal backs, were examined and the results compared with recent data on the mobility of the joint complexes of the horse's spine. The thoracolumbar spine can be divided into four regions based upon the morphology of the joint complexes: the first thoracic intervertebral joint (T1-2), the cranial and mid thoracic region (T2-T16), the caudal thoracic and lumbar region (T16-L6) and the lumbosacral joint. The mobility of the intervertebral joints in each of these regions can be related to their morphol...
Some morphological relations in the heart of non-trained horses.
Zentralblatt fur Veterinarmedizin. Reihe A    June 1, 1984   Volume 31, Issue 5 393-399 doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0442.1984.tb01297.x
Costa G, Illera M.No abstract available
[Possible morphological differentiation of horse and mule kidneys from those of donkey and hinny].
Anatomia, histologia, embryologia    June 1, 1984   Volume 13, Issue 2 189-192 doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0264.1984.tb00710.x
Simić V.No abstract available
Measurement of horses.
The Veterinary record    May 19, 1984   Volume 114, Issue 20 491-493 doi: 10.1136/vr.114.20.491
Hickman J, Colles C.No abstract available
Factors affecting measurement of horses and ponies.
The Veterinary record    May 19, 1984   Volume 114, Issue 20 485 doi: 10.1136/vr.114.20.485
No abstract available
Ultrastructure of the equine hoof wall secondary epidermal lamellae.
American journal of veterinary research    August 1, 1983   Volume 44, Issue 8 1561-1570 
Leach DH, Oliphant LW.The ultrastructure of cells of the secondary epidermal lamellae from the hoof wall of 8 adult horses was described. Stages of progressive keratinization were not observed in this cell population. The morphologic features of cells of the secondary epidermal lamellae indicated that these lamellae were composed of nonmobile populations of cells and that primary epidermal lamellae moved past the secondary lamellae by breaking of the desmosomes connecting these 2 cell populations. Seemingly, debris present in the intercellular space between primary and secondary lamellae was a by-product of this re...
Geometric properties of equine metacarpi.
Journal of biomechanics    January 1, 1983   Volume 16, Issue 2 129-139 doi: 10.1016/0021-9290(83)90036-2
Piotrowski G, Sullivan M, Colahan PT.Paired equine metacarpals were harvested, cleaned and sectioned transversely every 20 mm, and the bone geometry analyzed with a computer program. The cross-sectional area is largest in the middle third of the bone, and tapers off at either end. The principal axes are typically within 15 degrees of the anatomical axis, with the distal end rotated internally relative to the proximal end. At midshafts the bending stiffness in the antero-posterior plane is about 2/3 of the stiffness in the medio-lateral plane. The torsional stiffness is highest proximally. The equine third metacarpal appears to be...
Mineral metabolism and immobilization osteopenia in ponies treated with 25-hydroxycholecalciferol.
The Cornell veterinarian    October 1, 1982   Volume 72, Issue 4 372-393 
Eagle MT, Koch DB, Whalen JP, Hintz HF, Krook L.The left thoracic limb was immobilized in a plaster cast in 6 grade weanling ponies for 6 weeks. Two ponies were injected intramuscularly each day with 2.4 micrograms of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol [25(OH)D3] per kg bodyweight, two with 1.2 micrograms and two received no injections. Immobilization of 25(OH)D3 treatment had no significant effect on mineral metabolism. Immobilization resulted in significantly decreased weight and specific gravity of metacarpus III (MCIII). Histologic examination and triple fluorochrome incorporation showed that the osteopenia was caused by atrophy of osteoblasts w...
Morphometry of equine neutrophils isolated at different temperatures.
Veterinary pathology    September 1, 1982   Volume 19, Issue 5 534-543 doi: 10.1177/030098588201900508
Bertram TA, Coignoul FL.Equine neutrophils were evaluated ultrastructurally and by morphometric analysis. Homogeneous populations of neutrophils were isolated from peripheral blood at 4 degrees and 22 degrees C by centrifugation on two sequential Ficoll-Hypaque density gradients. Isolation procedures at both temperatures resulted in neutrophil degranulation but not cell swelling. Degranulation was more extensive in cells isolated at 22 degrees C. Isolation temperature affected the neutrophil content of secondary granules more than primary granules. A granule similar to immature specific granules of human neutrophils ...
Bone strength in small mammals and bipedal birds: do safety factors change with body size?
The Journal of experimental biology    June 1, 1982   Volume 98 289-301 doi: 10.1242/jeb.98.1.289
Biewener AA.Measurements of the cross-sectional geometry and length of bones from animals of different sizes suggest that peak locomotory stresses might be as much as nine times greater in the limb bones of a 300 kg horse than those of a 0.10 kg chipmunk. To determine if the bones of larger animals are stronger than those of small animals, the bending strength of whole bone specimens from the limbs of small mammals and bipedal birds was measured and compared with published data for large mammalian cortical bone (horses and bovids). No significant difference (P greater than 0.2) was found in the failure st...
[Investigations on the individual-region distribution of adipocyte diameters by means of advanced statistical methods].
Bollettino della Societa italiana di biologia sperimentale    May 30, 1981   Volume 57, Issue 10 1047-1053 
Strigazzi A, Bianchi M.The dimensional distributions of the adipocytes in Equus caballus in many subjects and in many regions have been studied: such distributions turn out to be in good approximation galtonian ones. Furthermore, all the logarithm populations of the cell diameters have significantly the same variance. The used statistical methods (ANOVA two way with replications, and TUKEY -test) indicate an extremely significant different among the various regions (the smallest cells are in the supra-orbital fossa, the greatest ones are in the abdominal subserous floor).
Morphometric estimation of pulmonary diffusion capacity in two horse lungs.
Respiration physiology    August 1, 1980   Volume 41, Issue 2 199-210 doi: 10.1016/0034-5687(80)90052-3
Gehr P, Erni H.The lungs of two half-bred geldings were fixed in situ by instillation of a glutaraldehyde solution into the airways during deep anaesthesia. The body weight of both animals was 510 kg and their average lung volume about 38 l. Stratified random samples from 22 regions were morphometrically analysed from electron microscopic films. Eighty-six per cent of the total lung volume was gas exchange parenchyma. It contained 26.9 l air space and 5.6 l interalveolar septa which were composed of equal parts of capillaries and tissue. The average alveolar and capillary surface areas were 2457 m2 and 1663 ...
Morphometric and electrophysiologic study of the photoreceptors in the horse. François J, Wouters L, Victoria-Troncoso V, de Rouck A, van Gerven A.No abstract available
[Descriptive study of the relationship between body weight and thoracic circumference in draught horses in Valdivia].
Zentralblatt fur Veterinarmedizin. Reihe A    January 1, 1980   Volume 27, Issue 6 517-519 
Henríquez OM, Deppe RF, Cortés SL.No abstract available
The growth of the transverse sectional area (TSA) of M. semitendinosus in the dog and horse and its relation to athletic ability in the two species.
Anatomia, histologia, embryologia    December 1, 1979   Volume 8, Issue 4 365-368 doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0264.1979.tb00822.x
Gunn HM.The acceleration capacity of an animal determines its length of stride and hence influences its maximum running speed (GuNN, 1975 a). This is related to the potential force of its propulsive muscles relative to its live-weight. Intensive selection over the generations has produced the Greyhound and Thoroughbred horse, breeds renowned for their ability to run at greater speeds than other members of their species (CLARKE, 1965; WENTWORTH, 1957). This study describes the relationship of TSA of m. semitendinosus (represen-tative of the propulsive muscles of the hindlimb (GUNN, 1975 b) to live-weig...
Proliferation and morphology of chick embryo cells cultured in the presence of horse serum and hemoglobin.
In vitro    August 1, 1979   Volume 15, Issue 8 587-592 doi: 10.1007/BF02623394
Verger C.We have shown previously that hemoglobin greatly stimulates chick embryo cell proliferation in Eagle's minimal essential medium supplemented with horse serum. In the present study we compared the effects of horse serum plus 10 micrometers hemoglobin to those of fetal bovine serum on subcultures of chick embryo cells serially propagated at high cell densities. The cells became elongated in the presence of fetal bovine serum and their rate of proliferation progressively decreased, whereas they became polygonal in the presence of horse serum plus hemoglobin and proliferated well in successive cel...
Surface morphology of the spermatozoa in infertile Welsh ponies.
Scanning electron microscopy    January 1, 1979   Issue 3 511-516 
Basrur PK, Ackerley CA, Reyes ER, Doig PA.No abstract available
Body composition of the horse.
Equine veterinary journal    January 1, 1979   Volume 11, Issue 1 39-47 doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1979.tb01295.x
Webb AI, Weaver BM.Seventeen horses were dissected and their organs and tissues weighed. The results of these dissections are presented together with comparisons of the data with that already available in the literature. Predictive equations for organs and tissue weights are also given which were derived by comparison of linear and allometric regression models using 4 different body weight indices.
The mean fibre area of the semitendinosus, diaphragm and pectoralis transversus muscles in differing types of horse and dog.
Journal of anatomy    October 1, 1978   Volume 127, Issue Pt 2 403-414 
Gunn HM.The mean fibre areas of samples from m. semitendinosus, m. diaphragma and m. pectoralis transversus of thoroughbred horses and greyhounds have been compared with those in similar samples from other members of their species. Athletes (greyhounds and thoroughbreds) have larger fibres in the semitendinosus and diaphragm than their fellows. However, the mean area of pectoralis transversus is similar in the two types of animal within each species. During growth the mean fibre areas increase to a greater extent in athletes than in non-athletes. Detraining adult greyhounds for a period of one year di...