The diameter of adipocytes from subcutaneous, intermuscular and internal cavity fat depots of 5 pre-and 14 postnatal Romney female sheep was measured, the volume calculated, and the number per depot computed from the weight of triglyceride in the depots. The rates of increase of adipocyte volume relative to the increase in weight of total side adipose tissue, and of the fat depots and their chemical components, were calculated using linear regression analyses of the natural logarithmic transformed data. These logarithmic regression equations were used to estimate the volume of adipocytes in sheep at different stages of development. The total numbers of adipocytes at each stage of growth were estimated using linear double logarithmic regressions of adipocyte number on carcass weight. The growth of total adipose tissue and of each of the fat depots occurred mainly by an increase in the adipocyte volume, which increased over 70-fold from 120 days gestation to 5 years of age. The increase in adipocyte volume during growth occurred at similar rates in all of the fat depots and no significant differences between the volumes of adipocytes from the fat depots were found within sheep of similar carcass weight. During the same growth period the total number of adipocytes increased about 6-fold. Differences in the relative rates of growth of the fat depots were attributed to cellular multiplication rather than to cellular enlargement.

Individual muscles were dissected from the forequarter and hindquarter regions offour castrate and four entire male red deer, aged 27 months,just before the rut. Six forequarter muscles were found to be significantly lighter as a proportion of total side weight in castrates, and four hindquarter muscles were heavier. Overall, the total dissected forequarter muscles were proportionately 7% lighter (P

A study of growth gradients of the limbs and axial skeleton was carried out in cattle, sheep and pigs, with the aid of gross anatomical dissection. The comparative study is discussed relative to each individual species and to interspecies differences. IntroductionA concept of postnatal growth gradients in bones was suggested by MCMEEKAN (1943) and PALSSON (1955). They described an axial craniocaudal gradient of increasing growth, and a distoproximal gradient of increasing growth in the limbs. Nevertheless, to date there are no reports available on the growth patterns of a topographical series of bone weights in the axial skeleton or in the limbs, covering the entire postnatal growth of any species.This paper reports an allometric analysis of bone growth within single breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs. By comparing growth patterns between these species, any patterns common to quadrupeds should become apparent. These species have also provided material to examine the effect of sex in a species and breed in which sex differences in external appearance are particularly evident (Jersey cattle), the effect of breed in a species for which two breeds differing markedly in mature body size, fat deposition and body shape were available (German Landrace and Gottingen Miniature pigs), and the effect of stage of growth in a species for which fetuses are a suitable size, and are readily available, for dissection (sheep).Results for some of the pigs have been previously published (DAVIES, 1979). Results for the growth of cattle formed part of one of the authors's PhD thesis (TAN, 1981). The results for all the material used have been briefly reported in a previous communication (DAVIES, 1980). Material and MethodsA total of 33 Jersey cattle, 38 Romney sheep and 61 pigs were dissected for this study (Tables 1 and 2). A half carcass of each animal was separated into component muscles, bones and fat depots. The methods have already been described by TAN (1981) for cattle, by BROAD/DAVIES (1980) for sheep, and by DAVIES/&LLWEIT (1979) for pigs. The carcasses were divided in the median plane in such a way as to leave the vertebral column intact and attached to the dissected side. The bones were cleaned of attached muscles, tendons and ligaments, leaving cartilagenous, periosteal and medullary tissues. Half U. S.

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