Morphometric Analysis of the Mandible of Tuj and Morkaraman Sheep

Abstract

In the present study, it was aimed to determine morphometric differences of the mandible of Tuj and Morka- raman sheep having widespread breeding area in the Eastern Anato- lia Region. In this study, 20 mandi- bles of the male Tuj and Morkara- man sheep were used. The 16- lenghts taken to the mandible were measured by electronic digital calli- per. Furthermore, after the mandible were photographed and printed to milimetric paper, the 4-angles stud- ied were measured with gonimeter. The results of this study proved that the means of the length and angle measurements obtained from Morkaraman sheep were mostly higher than Tuj sheep. The angle of margo ventralis mandibulae (A4) and the mandible height at the level of the rear alveolar edge with 3rd molar tooth (L14) had a significant statistical difference (p<0.05). Ac- cording to the correlation values, it was seen that A2 values (the angle between the proc. condylaris and ramus mandibulae) of the both sheep breeds were in negative rela- tion with the other mandible meas- urements. As a result, the obtained data indicate that genetic doesn't significantly affect the morphometry of the mandible of the Morkaraman and Tuj sheeps.