The present study was designed to elaborate on the morphometry of the skull of non-descript goats in Mizoram state of India. The study was conducted on the skull of twelve (n=12) adult goats of either sex (n=6 males and n=6 females) collected from the local slaughterhouses. Altogether, forty-one different measurements were taken morphologically. In the present study, the cranial and facial bones were the major components of the skull with a total of thirty-two bones. There were three single and four paired cranial bones with a total of eleven bones. There were one single and the rest were paired facial bones with a total of twenty-one bones. The cranial bones were occipital, parietal, interparietal, sphenoid, ethmoid, frontal and temporal. The facial bones were maxilla, premaxilla (incisive), palatine, pterygoid, nasal, lacrimal, zygomatic (malar), vomer, turbinate, mandible and hyoid. The skull measurements showed that the skull of the goat was elongated and dolichocephalic as per the cephalic index (47.82±0.05). The length and width of the skull was 19.28±0.03 cm and 9.22±0.04 cm, respectively. There were two supraorbital foramina on both sides of the frontal bone. The prominent facial tuberosity lies dorsally to the third superior premolar tooth. Single infraorbital foramen was located dorsally to the junction of the first and second superior premolar teeth on maxilla bone. The orbits were round and complete and situated on a frontolateral oblique plane. It can be concluded that the findings of this study would assist the comparative studies with other domesticated animals in the future and would be applicable in clinical veterinary practice and even in zooarchaeology.

Zovawk is newly identified breed of pig of Mizoram approved by breed registration committee of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. This study was designed to provide maximum number of morphometrical parameters of skull and some valuable information on clinically important parameters of Zovawk. The skull of the Zovawk was dolichocephalic according to the cephalic index (53.56±0.11). The supraorbital foramina distance, infraorbital foramina distance, skull length, skull width, cranial length and nasal length of the Zovawk were 3.49±0.01 cm, 6.55±0.01 cm, 28.26±0.03 cm, 15.11±0.26 cm, 13.17±0.04 cm and 13.79±0.02 cm, respectively. The orbital margins were found to be incomplete with bilateral variation among the orbits of both the sides. The distance from the process of alveolar socket of canine tooth to the infraorbital canal and from the latter to the root of the fourth upper premolar alveolar tooth directly ventral to it was 4.77±0.04 cm and 1.20±0.01 cm, respectively in Zovawk. The data are of clinical importance as a guide for tracking the infra-orbital nerve, and necessary for its desensitization during the manipulations in the skin of the upper lip, nostril and face at the level of the foramen. The distance between the lateral end of the alveolus of the third incisor tooth to the mental foramen was 3.57±0.04 cm in Zovawk, which is an important landmark for achieving the location of the mental nerve for the regional nerve block Zovawk. The length and height of the mandible were 25.02±0.09 cm and 10.54±0.07 cm, respectively in Zovawk. The morphometric measurements of the skull and applied anatomy of the head region of the Zovawk provide an important baseline data for further research in the field of applied anatomy.

Electron microscopy is a powerful tool to study biological samples at higher magnification. The higher magnifications achieved by the electron microscopes are helpful to the researchers to study surface morphology as well as cellular morphology of the samples. The blood sample surface morphology can be visualized at higher magnification by scanning electron microscope (SEM). For the examination of the blood cells at the cellular level, transmission electron microscopes (TEM) are used. In this article, we have described the step-by-step standard protocol for the preparation of blood samples for electron microscopy. The prepared blood samples can be visualized under SEM and TEM. The obtained electron micrographs of blood cells can be used for differential diagnosis of various diseases at the cellular level.

This study aims to characterize the cytomorphology and ultrastructure of blood cells of native cattle of Mizoram. Twelve numbers of blood samples (10 ml) were collected from the Zobawng cattle, irrespective of sex. Blood smears were prepared and stained with different stains for cytomorphological study. The standard protocol has been followed for preparing blood samples for electron microscopy. Under a light microscope, erythrocytes of cattle were non-nucleated and round. The neutrophils were round, and the cytoplasm contained cytoplasmic granules. The eosinophils were rounded in outline with distinct cytoplasmic granules. The presence of basophils was infrequent with distinct blue color cytoplasmic granules. Small, medium, and large types of lymphocytes were recorded. The monocytes were round to oval in outline. Platelets were irregular to round. The reticulocytes were recorded occasionally, like small blue thin rods or granules. The cytoplasm and nucleus of granulocytes fluoresced greenish-yellow and red, respectively, with supravital stain. Under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the erythrocytes appeared as biconcave discs. Different leukocytes were observed with their finger-like, plate-like, and narrow cell processes on their surface. Platelets were irregular structures. In transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the erythrocytes appeared anucleated biconcave elongated, neutrophils were roughly rounded with small cytoplasmic processes, and eosinophils were roughly circular with small cytoplasmic processes, the basophils were roughly circular with oval to elongated cytoplasmic granules, lymphocytes were roughly circular with centrally placed well-marked oval indented nucleus and some cytoplasmic processes, monocytes appeared spherical with long thick cytoplasmic processes and the non-nucleated platelets appeared roughly round to elongated. Research Highlights• Blood tests are a very good tool for determining animal health and diagnosing hematological illnesses.• This study showed the cytomorphological and ultrastructural features of the blood cells of native cattle (Zobawng) of Mizoram state of India.Rupan Sarkar and Om Prakash Choudhary contributed equally to this manuscript

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