Morphological study on the skull sutures and their relationships to skull morphology in young camels (Camelus dromedarius)

Abstract

Objective: The sutures are associated with anatomical and physiological differences in skull camels. There is a deficiency in the information regarding the anatomy of dromedary camels, especially on fibrous joints (sutures) of the camels' skull.

Aim: The goal of this work was to give a detailed gross anatomical and radiographic description of the sutures in the camels' skull. This description may be of great importance for veterinarians to differentiate between the suture and the fracture of the head in the radiographic photos.

Methods: The current study was conducted on 10 skulls of the young (Howar) dromedary camel at 4-10 months old. The skulls were prepared by using the boiling and maceration techniques. The gross and radiographic photos of the sutures were taken using a digital camera and Siemens mobile full-wave X-ray machine (Siemens Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany).

Results: The skull is made up of nineteen bones -6 single and 13 paired-the majority of which are joined by joints termed as sutures. The sutures of the camel skulls were viewed in dorsal, ventral, lateral-vertical, and inside directions. They were of four types which are the coronal, serrate, plane, and squamosal sutures in different positions of the skull.

Conclusion: The current study showed that the fibrous joints of camel skulls (sutures) were similar to those of other domestic animals. This information is critical for supporting veterinarians to differentiate sutures from fractures that may have happened in the skull of the dromedary camel using radiological pictures.

Keywords: Morphology; Skull; Sutures; Young camels.

Fig. 1.. Dorsal view of skull showing the site of the skull sutures. (A): (a) S.int: Sutura internasalis, (b) S.frn: Sutura frontonasalis, (c) S.fr: Sutura frontalis and (d) S.sa: Sutura sagittalis. The camel’s age is 10 months. (B): (a) S.int: Sutura internasalis, (b) S.frn: Sutura frontonasalis, (c) S.co: Sutura Coronalis Or S.frp: Sutura frontoparietalis, (d) S.sa: Sutura sagittalis. The camel’s age is 6 months. (C): (a) S.frn: Sutura frontonasalis, (b) S.fr: Sutura frontalis, (c) S.co: Sutura Coronalis Or S.frp: Sutura frontoparietalis, (d) S.sa: Sutura sagittalis, (e) S.sc: Sutura squamosal cranii or S.pat: Sutura squamosal parieto-temporallis. The camel’s age is 6 months. (D): (a) S.int: Sutura internasalis, (b) S.frn: Sutura frontonasalis, (c) S.fr: Sutura frontalis, (d) S.co: Sutura Coronalis or S.frp: Sutura frontoparietalis, (e) S.sa: Sutura sagittalis, (f) S.pao: Sutura Parieto-occipitalis. The camel’s age is 4 months.

Fig. 2.. Lateral view of skull showing the position of the skull sutures. (A): (a) S.inm: Sutura incisiveomaxillaris, (b) S.nam: Sutura nasomaxillaris, (c) S.frm: Sutura frontomaxillaris, (d) S.lam: Sutura lacrimomaxillaris, (e) S.zym: Sutura zygomaticomaxillaris. The camel’s age is 8 months. (B): (a) S.lam: Sutura lacrimomaxillaris, (b) S.frl: Sutura frontolacrimalis, (c) S.zym: Sutura zygomaticomaxillaris. The camel’s age is 8 months. (C): (a) S.frm: Sutura frontomaxillaris, (b) S.frl: Sutura frontolacrimalis, (c) S.zym: Sutura zygomaticomaxillaris, (d) S.yzt: Sutura zygomaticotemporalis, (e) S.sc: Sutura squamosal cranii or S.pat: Sutura squamosal parieto-temporallis. The camel’s age is 6 months. (D): (a) S.sc: Sutura squamosal cranii or S.pat: Sutura squamosal parieto-temporallis, (b) S.sq p: Sutura squamosopetrousalis, (c) S.la: Sutura lambdoidea. The camel’s age is 6 months. (E): (a) S.sphm: Sutura sphenomaxillaris, (b) S.typ: Sutura plana tympanopetrousalis, (c) S.ptpm: Sutura pterygo-palatino-maxillaris, (d) S.pam: Sutura plana palatomaxillaris and (e) S.spho: Sutura spheno-occipitalis. The camel’s age is 8 months.

Fig. 3.. Ventral view of skull showing the site of the skull sutures. (A): (a) S.inc: Sutura incisiva, (b) S.pam: Sutura palatina mediana, (c) S.pat: Sutura palatina transversa, (d) S.pam: Sutura palatomaxillaris, (e) S.sphv: Sutura sphenovomeriana, (f) S.spho: Sutura spheno-occipitalis, (g) S.oct: Sutura occipital-temporalis or S.ocm Sutura occipitomastoidea, (h) S.sphp: Sutura sphenoparietalis. The camel’s age is 6 months. (B): (a) S.pam: Sutura palatina mediana, (b) S.pat: Sutura palatina transversa, (c) S.pam: Sutura plana palatomaxillaris, (d) S.sphv: Sutura sphenovomeriana, (e) S.spho: Sutura spheno-occipitalis, (f) S.ptpm: Sutura pterygo-palatino-maxillaris. The camel’s age is 6 months.

Fig. 4.. Vertical or inside view of skull showing the position of the skull sutures. (a) S.freth: Sutura frontoethmoidalis, (b) S.paeth: Sutura parieto ethmoidalis, (c) S.spheth: Sutura sphenoethmoidalis. The camel’s age is 6 months.

Fig. 5.. Lateral radiograph of camel head view showing site of the skull sutures. (a) S.incm: Sutura incisiveomaxillaris, (b) S.nam: Sutura plana nasomaxillaris, (c) S.sc: Sutura squamosal cranii or S.pat: Sutura squamosal parieto-temporallis, (d) S.oct: Sutura occipital-temporalis or S.ocm: occipitomastoidea, (e) S.sqp: Sutura squamosopetrousalis. The camel’s age is 10 months.

Fig. 6.. Dorsoventral radiograph of camel skull showing position of the skull sutures: (a) S.pam: Sutura palatina mediana, (b) S.pat: Sutura palatina transversa, (c) S.ptpm: Sutura folata pterygo-palatino-maxillaris, (d) S.sphv: Sutura sphenovomeriana, (e) S.sa: Sutura sagittalis, (f) S.co: Sutura Coronalis, (g) S.pao: Sutura Parieto-occipitalis. The camel’s age is 8 months.

Fig. 7.. Posteroanterior radiograph of camel skull showing site of the skull sutures. (a) S.sa: Sutura sagittalis, (b) S.freth: Sutura frontoethmoidalis, (c) S.paeth: Sutura parieto ethmoidalis, (d) S.spheth: Sutura sphenoethmoidalis. The camel’s age is 8 months.