Gross Morphological and Morphometrical Studies on the Hyoid Apparatus of Adult Broiler Chicken (Gallus domesticus)

Abstract

The present gross morphological and morphometrical study was conducted on the hyoid apparatus of healthy adult broiler chicken. It was found that the hyoid apparatus consisted of basihyal bone, urohyal bone and two rami. Further, the two rami consisted of bony and cartilaginous parts. The biometrical measurements were taken from the various segments of hyoid apparatus. The basihyal bone and urohyal bones were of similar length. The thickness of basihyal bone increased from cranial to caudal aspect, but the width of urohyal bone followed decreasing trend towards the caudal aspect. The left ceratobranchiale was comparatively wider than the right one. The distance between the two ceratobranchiales followed a regular decrease towards the caudal aspect. The width and thickness were almost equal in both the ceratobranchiales, but the width gradually decreased towards the caudal aspect in both the epibranchiales. Both the epibranchiales were of equal thickness and gradually became thinner towards the caudal aspect in both the epibranchiales. The biometrical observation in the present study would contribute a baseline data on the hyoid apparatus of adult broiler chicken which could be useful for future research.