Prenatal growth of the swine auricle.
The aim of this article was the morphological, topographical and metric illustration of the growth of the swine auricle during the prenatal period. The experiment was conducted on 188 pig fetuses of known ages (42nd-115th day of gestation), divided into seven age groups. On the 42nd day of gestation the auricle was seen to be a triangular ear-flap covering the orifice of the external auditory meatus. Among the 43-49 day-old fetuses the rostro-ventral growth of the ear-flap was noted as well as its extension. The rostro-ventral "descensus" of the orifice of the external auditory meatus appeared in the material studied. The growth of the bilateral auricles was symmetrical during the whole period investigated. The growth in length of the whole fetus seemed to be relatively less marked than the increase in the auricular height and width. The increase in the auricular height was greater than the growth in width of the auricle. The measurements of the auricle were strongly correlated with the total length of the fetus during the whole period investigated.
Bruzewicz
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Department of Anatomy and Histology, Wrocław Agricultural Academy, Poland.
D000818:Animals; D004431:Ear, External / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D005333:Fetus; D005865:Gestational Age; D013552:Swine / Q000196:embryology*