| Understanding normal fetal growth rates of the vertebral column, and between species, provide a basis to establish reference values for evaluation of body development and estimation of fetal age by ultrasonography. Goats are also widely used in biomedical perinatal research and are still considered a key to understanding the skeletal development. This study was carried out to clarify growth of length of vertebral column at segmental, regional, and total level of vertebral column in the fetal goats during different gestational age. The length of each vertebral segment of 25 goat fetuses, aged between 6 and 20 weeks were measured for each vertebra using a digital caliper. Our study demonstrated differences among various fetal ages in terms of regional,... |
