Anatomy of Livestock
Anatomy
• Form and structure of the body and its parts
• What things look like and where they are
located
System of the body
Organs in the body
Job or function
Skeletal
bones
Protects vital organs
Muscular
Muscle(meat)
Support and move body
Sensory
Eyes, ears, nose, skin
Sense and detect things
outside the body
Nervous
Brain, nerves spinal cord
Pass messages around the
body, control the body
Circulatory
Heart, blood vessels
The blood carries substances
around the body
Respiratory
Muzzle, windpipe, lungs
Breathing
Digestive
Stomach, liver, intestine,
pancreas
Digest and absorb feed
Urinary
Kidneys, bladder
Gets rid of poisons and waste
Reproductive
Testes, penis, ovaries, uterus, To produce and feed young
vagina, vulva, udder
Directions
Body Cavities
• Ventral body cavity
– Contains most of the soft organs; divided by thin
diaphragm
• Thoracic cavity- heart, lung, esophagus, blood vessels
• Abdominal cavity- digestive tract
• Pelvic cavity- urinary organs, reproductive organs
• Dorsal body cavity
– Contains the brain and spinal cord
• Cranial cavity- brain
• Spinal cavity- spinal cord
Cranial
Cavity
Spinal
Cavity
Dorsal Cavity
Ventral Cavity
Thoracic
Cavity
Diaphragm
Abdominal
Cavity
Different Systems
• Skeletal system
• Muscular system
• Sensory system
• Nervous system
• Circulatory system
• Respiratory system
• Digestive system
• Urinary system
• Reproductive system
Skeletal System
• Bony tissue
• Framework from the animals body
• The size and shape of animals is determined
by the skeleton
The Skeletal System
• Functions
– Protection for vital organs
– Helps keep organs properly arranged in the body
Skeletal System
• Compact bone
– Honeycombed
– Hard part of the skeleton
– Bony tissue
• Calcium
• Phosphorus
Skeletal System
• Cartilage
– Flexible at the ends of bones
– Flexible material that lubricates the joints and
cushion shocks
Muscular System
• The largest system in the body, making up
about 45% of the body weight of hogs, cattle,
and chickens
• Lean meat of animals
Muscular System
• Important for movement
– Locomotion
– Circulation
– Digestion
– Breathing
Muscular System
• Two types of muscles
– Voluntary: controlled by the thinking part of the
brain
– Involuntary: automatically controlled by a lower
part of the brain
Nervous System
• Provided animals with ability to react or adjust
to different situations
• Helps with physical activity
• Provides pathways for all the senses
• Central Nervous System has the brain and
spinal cord
• Peripheral Nervous System has somatic
nerves which is muscles and skin and
autonomic nerves which is the visceral organs
Sensory
• The brain also controls the senses. Different
organs are:
– The eyes for sight
– The ears for hearing
– The nose for smell
– The tongue for taste
– The skin for touch
Circulatory
• Moves digested food, oxygen, wastes, and
other materials around the body. Systematic
circulation is the movement of blood
throughout the body
Circulatory System
• Blood-liquid in the circulatory system
– Plasma-90% water
– Solid materials- glucose, vitamins, minerals, and
amino acids (proteins)
Circulatory System
• Solids in the blood include:
– Red blood cells
• Contain hemoglobin
• Made in the bone marrow
– White blood cells
• Help fight off disease
• Pus that forms at wounds is a collection of white blood
cells
– Platelets
• Essential for blood to clot
Circulatory System
• System parts
– Heart: Pump that sends blood throughout the
system
– Arteries: Vessels that carry blood from the heart
– Capillaries: Small branches from the arteries that
carry blood to the cells
– Veins: Carry blood back to the heart
Respiratory System
• Moves gases to and from the
circulatory system
• Internal respiration
– Exchange of gases between
the cells and the blood
within the body
• External respiration
– Exchanges of gases in the
lungs between the blood and
the atmosphere
Respiratory System
• Parts of the Respiratory system
– Nostrils: openings near the mouth through which
gases enter and leave the body
– Pharynx: connects the nose area with the mouth
area
– Larynx: often called voice box
– Trachea: known as the windpipe; connects the
pharynx with the lungs
– Lungs: where gas is exchanged between the
atmosphere and the blood
Respiratory System
• Breathing process involves air entering and
leaving the lungs
– Inspiration: process of taking air into the lungs
– Expiration: Process of moving air out of the lungs
Digestive System
• Consists of the teeth, mouth, esophagus,
stomach, intestine, liver, pancreas, and rectum
• Begins in mouth where food is broken down
into smaller pieces. In stomach it is mixed with
juices to form soft paste. Then passes through
intestine where bile from liver and juices from
pancreas are added. Waste collects in rectum
and passes out through anus (or cloaca in
birds)
Digestive System
• Different livestock
species have different
digestive systems
• Ruminants have four
compartments to
stomach
– Rumen, reticulum,
omasum, abomasum
• Poultry have a crop,
proventriculus and
ventriculus
Digestive System
• Monogastric
– Simple stomach
– One compartment
• Pigs
• Horse
• Dog
• Cat
• Birds
Endocrine System
• The endocrine system functions are
– Controls growth
– Reproductive functions
• Heat
• Lactation
• birth
– Shape of the animal
– Feed efficiency
Urinary System
• Main organ are the two kidneys, which lie
against the backbone and bladder
• Waste materials and water are taken out of
the blood in kidneys
• Forms urine which is then collects in bladder
and passes out of the body
Urinary System
• Kidney’s are shaped differently for different
livestock
– Lobulated
• Cattle
• Chicken
– Heart shaped
• Horse
– Bean shaped
• Pigs
• Sheep
Reproductive System
• Two different reproductive systems:
• Female produces eggs from ovaries and gives
birth
• Male produces sperm from testis and fertilizes
the egg
Female Reproductive System
• Consists of two ovaries,
one on each side of
abdomen.
• Ovaries produce eggs
which pass into the
uterus.
• Below the uterus is the
vagina which opens to
the outside surrounded
by vulva.
Male Reproductive System
• Male reproductive
organs, the testicles, lie
in the scrotum behind
the penis
• Testicles produce the
sperm in the semen
• In the bird the testicles
are inside the body
References
• www.lsu.edu/lata/L3-1.doc
• http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0690e/t0690e04
.htm
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