Morphological Studies on the Prenatal Development of Calvaria in Dromedarian Camel

The work was aimed at studying the morphology of the calvaria of dromedarian fetuses. Thirty two wasted camel fetuses were used in this study, out of these 23 were males (71.88%) and 9 females (28.12%). Eleven fetuses were at the first trimester (34.4%), twelve were at the second trimester (37.5%), while nine were at the third trimester (28.1%). The calvaria were found to be soft and pliable through digital palpation at the first and second trimesters; and a relative hardness with advancement in gestational ages at the third trimester with the calvaria being very hard. Anterior fontanel was visible which was more prominent at the first and second trimester stages and tended to obliterate at the third trimester before birth. Prominent and wide cranial sutures were seen on the heads at the first and second trimester stages, with sutures being wider and prominent at the first trimester, however this tended to decrease with advancement in gestational age, more especially at the third trimester, at which stage the brain growth could have reached an advanced stage. The information obtained in this study could be of significance in developmental anatomical studies, as well as regarding its application in neurosurgery.