THE PHILIPPINE WATER BUFFALO

corpora lutea, 0.64 ± 0.77 mature ovarian follicles; left
ovary –0.37 ± 0.50 corpora lutea, 0.41 ± 0.67 mature
ovarian follicles. At 5% level no statistical significance
was found in the differences in values between paired
structures of the female bubaline genitalia. The results
obtained in the present study indicate that the female
reproductive organs of the Philippine buffaloes are smaller
than those of the foreign breeds of buffaloes and cattle.
Comparisons between the measurements taken from the
two large Philippine ruminants reveal that the genital tracts
are longer and ovaries are smaller but heavier in the native
buffaloes than those in the native cows.
Keywords: female reproductive organs, mature nonpregnant
Philippine buffaloes, carabao, Bubalus bubalis
* The Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 19(2): 45-
55, 1980.
A-76
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, HISTOLOGY AND
HISTOCHEMISTRY OF THE GALLBLADDER AND
CYSTIC DUCT AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF BILE OF PHILIPPINE CARABAO (Bubalus
bubalis) AND PHILIPPINE RAISED CATTLE (Bos
taurus)*
K. B. Tubalinal, Student
The location, relation to the liver, shape, length and width of
the gallbladder and cystic duct were similar in both the
carabao and cattle. The gallbladder was pear-shaped and
located in between the quadrate and right lobes of the
visceral surface of the liver. It was 9 to 18 cm long and 4
to 10 cm wide in carabao and 8 to 18 cm long and 4.5 to 10
cm wide in cattle. Connected to the neck of the gallbladder
was the cystic duct. Microscopically, the wall of gallbladder
and cystic duct in both species did not present any major
difference. Three types of cells were found in the lining
epithelium: mucus-secreting columnar cells that presented
apical blebs and secreted neutral mucins; non-secretory
columnar cells with brush borders and did not contain any
secretion; and goblet cells that secreted strongly sulphated
acid mucins. Mucous and mixed glands with the same
cells as the lining epithelium, were observed in the
gallbladder and cystic duct walls of both the bubaline and
bovine species. The bile volume obtained in both species
ranged from 20 to 340 ml, the pH, from six to 8.1, the
specific gravity, from 1.0030 to >1.0045 and the bile color,
from yellow to green to brown. Results showed that the
gross and microscopic anatomy of the gallbladder and
cystic duct and the physical characteristics of bile did not
differ markedly between the sexes and between the two
30
ABSTRACT OF RESEARCHES ON
THE PHILIPPINE WATER BUFFALO
species (carabao and cattle) studied. Similarly, the
measurements when subjected to Two-sample t-test showed
that the size of the gallbladder and the physical
characteristics of bile did not vary significantly between
the sexes and the two species of ruminant studied.
Keywords: anatomy, gall bladder, cystic duct, bile,
Philippine carabao, Philippine cattle
*Undergraduate thesis, College of Veterinary Medicine,
University of the Philippines Los Baños, 2001.
A-77
CLASSIFICATION OF MUZZLE PRINTS IN
PHILIPPINE CARABAO (Bubalus bubalis L.) AND
ITS PHILIPPINE-MURRAH CROSSBRED*
A. D. C. Velasco, Student
Muzzle prints were taken from two hundred (200) Philippine
carabaos and its crossbred from the Philippine Carabao
Center, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna
and Livestock Auction Center, Padre Garcia, Batangas.
The muzzle prints of the carabao showed clear images of
the various features seen on the surface of the muzzle.
Among the distinct features observed in a muzzle print
were the median groove, representing the philtrum; central
depression, representing a depressed round area on the
muzzle; beads, representing the polygonal raised areas on
the surface of the muzzle; fine dark lines near the upper lip,
representing the hair in the area of muzzle; and white lines
around the beads, representing the grooves surrounding
the surface tubercles. The height of the muzzle ranged from
6.2-10.8 cm while its width ranged from 3.4-5.3 cm. The
muzzle prints were initially classified based on the presence
and absence of the median groove. Those with a median
groove were again classified based on the continuity of the
median groove up to the upper lip. Each major classification
was further subdivided based on the length and width of
the median groove, presence or absence of central
depressions and the direction and manner of origin of the
beds from the median groove. Of the 200 carabao muzzle
prints examined, 190 (95%) showed median groove while
only 10 (5.0%) had no median groove. Ninety eight (49%)
of the muzzle prints had no central depression while 102
(51.0%) showed central depression. Some prints showed
only one central depression, others had two which were
either conjoined or separate, and one print showed three
central depressions. There was no significant difference
between the muzzle prints of Philippine carabao and of the
Philippine Murrah based on the presence and absence of
median groove, bead radiation and bead origin. Muzzle
printing is an easy and simple procedure. On closer