Development of Skull in the Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

The project work was undertaken on 650 Buffalo embryos and foetuses ranging from 26 days to 310 days and 80 nondescript buffalo calves of day old to 30 months to study the development of the skull in Buffalo at different pre and postnatal stages. Developmentally the bones of the buffalo skull were divided into four groups i.e. Chondrocranium, Desmocranium, Membranous viscerocranium and Cartilaginous viscerocranium. The skull formation was in mesenchymal form at 26 days. The bones of floor of the cranium except basioccipital were ossified from multiple centers and most of the facial bones were ossified from single centers. The ossification of skull appeared first in mandible, maxilla and malar at 45 days. The last bone of the skull to ossify was dorsal turbinate. The cranial component of the skull was greater than the facial component upto 18 months of postnatal life. The maxillary sinus appeared first at 92 days. Five fontanelle were observed. A sensory nodule was observed at the cranial part of mandibular space from 40 days onwards. The vomer was in contact with the floor of the nasal cavity throughout separating two posterior nares completely.