The Structure of the Cow's Udder
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UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 344 The Structure of the Cow's Udder C. W. T u RN ER COLUMBIA, MISSOURI JANUARY, 1935 UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Experiment Station EXECUTIVE BOARD OF CURATORS.-MERCER ARNOLD, joplin; H. J. BLANTON. Pario: GEORGE C. WILLSON, St. Louio STATION STAFF, JANUARY, 1935 WALTER WILLIAMS, L.L. D., President FREDERICK A. MIDDLEBUSH, Ph. D ., Acting President F B . MUMFORD, M S~ D. Agr., Director S. B. SHIRKY, A.M., Asst. to Director MISS ELLA PAHMEIER, Secretary AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY E. MARION BROWN, A.M.* A. G. HoGAN, Ph.D. Mtss CLARA FuHR, M.S.* L. D. HAIGH, Ph.D. E. W. CowAN, A.M. HOME ECONOMICS J.UTHitP. R. RICHARDSON, Ph.D. U. S. AsHwOJ.TH. Ph.D MABEL CAMPBELL, A.M. A.M. ]ESSIE ALICE CLINE, A.M. S. R. JoHNSON, ADELLA EPPEL GINTER, M.S. HELEN BERESFORD, B.S. AGRICULTtlRAL ECONOMICS BERTHA BtSBI!Y, Ph.D. 0. R. JoHNsoN, A.M ]ESSIE v. COLES, Ph.D. BEN H. FRA>lE, A.M. BERTHA K. WHIPPLE, M.S F. L. THOl<SEN, Ph.D c. H. HAl<llAil, Ph.D. HORTICULTURE AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING T. J. TALBI!kT, A.M. J. C. WooLEY, M .S. A. E. MuRNEEJ<, Ph.D. MAcJ: M. JoNES. M.S. H. G. SwARTWOUT, A.M. G. W. GILES, B.S. in A. E. GEO. CARL VINSON, Ph.D. FRAN!t Holi.SFALL, ]R., A.M. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY R. A. ScRilOEDER, 11.S. in Agr. GEOilGI! E. SMITH, B S. in Agr. E. A. TROWBRIDGE, B.S. in Agr. L.A. WEAVER.,...B.S . in Agr. A. G. HoGAN, rh.D. POULTRY HUSBANDRY F. B. MullFORD, M.S., D. Agr. H. L. KEMPBTEll, M.S. F. F. McKENZIE, Ph.D.• E. M. FuNJ:, A.M. J. E. Co><FOJ.T, A.M.* lJ. C. MoFFETT, A.M. RURAL SOCIOLOGY A. T. DYn, B.S in Agr E. L. MoRGAN, P h.D. S. R. JoHNsON, A.M. L. G. BROWN, Ph.D. c. E. TER.RILL, B.S. SOILS BOTANY AND PHYSIOLOGY M. F. MILLER, M.S.A. W. J. RoBBINs, Ph.D. tH. H. KRUSE!tOPF, A.M. C. M. Tuc~<n, Ph.D. w. A. ALBRECHT, Ph.D. HANS ]t!NNY, Ph. D. DAIRY HUSBANDRY t • D. BAVER, Ph.D. A. C. RAGsDALE, M.S. H. F. WINTERJ:ORN, Ph.D. tW><. H. E. REID..>. A.M. Su<VJ!W BJ.ODY, rh.D. c. w. TUilNER. Ph.D. VETERINARY SCIENCE H. A. HERMAN, A.M. A.]. DURANT, A.M., D.V.M. E. R. GAaatsoN, A.M. ]. w. CONNAWAY, D.V.M. • M.D. WARJ.EN c. HALL, A.M. CECIL ELDER, A.M ., D.V.M. R. C. l'aocTER, B.S. o. s. CRISLER, D.V.M. E. P. REINEI<E, B.S. ANDREW UREN, D.V.M. E. T. GoMEZ, A.M. HAROLD C. McDouGLE, A.M P. L. P1ucv, D.V.M. ENTOMOLOGY LEONARD HASE>lAN, Ph.D. OTHER OFFICERS T. E. BIIlJ:ETT, A.M. R. B. PaiCE, B.L., Treasurer LESLIE CowAN. B.S., Sec'y of Univ~rsity FIELD CROPS A. A. ]t!FFREY, A.B., Agricultural Editor w. c. ETHERIDGE, Ph.D. L. R. GRINSTEAD, B.J , Asa't. Agr. Editor C. A. HEt.ll, A.M.• ]. F. BAilHAll, Photographer L . .r. STADLEil, Ph.D.* LEON W AUGHTAL, Asoistant Photographer B. M. KING, A.M.* JANE FaoDBHA><, Librarian *In cooperative service with the U. S. tOn leave of absence. Department of Agriculture. The Structure of the Cow's Udder c. vY. T RNER The mammary glands of the c w are grouped t ogether in a struc t ure c alled the udder. There are two normal glands (the fore and rear quarters) in each half, and in addition ther may be one to two super numera ry teats asso iated with small glands. The ri ght and left halves of the udder are separated b y a ' ell denn ed longit udinal groove wh ich extend s upward as th median connec ti ve ti ssue septum. Vi ewed from the s ide, the udder presents a mor or less rounded saccul ar appear ance with attachments usua ll y >qending high behind and w II ~ rward. The several dairy cattle breed r s' associations have pr pared pictures and m odels f ows showing ideal udders (l•'ig. n. \\'hile there are s ome differences in thcs pi tu res, th r ader will note. that t hey are all characterized by g d siz , w ll bl ended attachment of the GUERNSEY HOLSTEIN- FRIESIAN Fig. I.-The model ud ders of rh e doiry breed a -t :.1J ssuu1n 1\ GJ~ I LJLTl' RA L E~PER I ~IE="T S TATI ON fore quarters, levelness of the flo r, we ll p laceu teats o f g od size, and with rear attachments wide anu carried hi gh behind. The Internal Structure of the Udder Upon dissecti on of the udder, it will be observed t hat each h alf is enclosed in a strong fibrous sac. On the inner side where the halves joi n, the fi bers intermingle and extencl upward to the abdomen where an attachment is made. This stru cture is known as the med ian suspensory li gament. On either side are the lateral suspensory li gaments, whi ch in conjunction with the s kin, serve as t he chi ef support of the udder (Fig. 2). The indi vidual glands (the quarters) in each half of the udder are not as distinctly separated as a re the halves. For this reason the earli er anatomists were of the opinion that the quarters were connected. FiJ,c . 2.- Crou sect.ion of the re nr qunrtera of a cow' a udde r. f1ULT.ETJN 344 5 Several lin s of evidence support the present view that each quarter is quite separat and distinct. In studies of the earl y development of the teat and gland the separation is distinctly shown (s e l\lissomi Agri- ultural Experiment Station Research Bulletin 160). Bitting and many others since ha e injected va.riecl colored dyes into fore and rear quarters (Fig. 31. T he line of division thLl sh wn appears to aI e very thin co nn e tivc tissue septum, irregular in outlin e but permitting no min gling of the secretion of the tw glands. Fig. 3.-Section of the fro nt nnd renr qunrters o f a cow's ud ,fer. The c:ztent c,£ the qunr tcra i1 shown by the iniection of varie d colored aol ulion1. 1 he durkea aectio n i1 the fore <: uuter. In a recent stu ly of 74 Ia tation records; the writer fo 11n d that on the average the two front quarters each produced slightly more than 20 per eent ofthetotalmilkyi ld ,wher as the two r ar quarters ea h pr du ed sli ghtly I ss t han 30 per ent. nsidered together t he fr nt quarters produced 41.90 per en t and the rear quarters 58.10 per en t f th total milk. The milk production fmm the righ t and I ft halves was 1 racticall y uniform, 49.93 per cent and 50.07 per ent, r spcctively. H owever, in a total of 16 lactati n r ecords, the largest quarter production o -uned in one of the f, re quarters. · At the entrance to the t at t here is a duct call e::l the streak canal or ductus papi!!aris. It is usually from ;;,;: to ;yB inches long and is held (J ).[I SSOl'H l AcRr U LTURAL EXPEHL\IEN T S TATION closed by the a iel of a circular sphincter muscle. The streak canal is designed to retain the milk in the udder against the pressure developed in the stora ge srstem during t he interval between mi lkings. It also makes diflictdt the entrance of foreign matter and bacteria. At times the canal is so small that there is difficulty in milking (the so-ca ll ed " hard milker"). This co ndition may frequently be remedi ed by su rgical treatment. Above the streak canal the cavity of the teat widens out grad uall y until a space of co nsiderabl e size is form ed. T hi s is called the cistern of th e teat. T he upper end of the cistern of the teat opens into the cistern of the gland above. Fre quently the teat cistern is sharply distingui shed from the gland cistern by a constriction in the form of a circular fold whi ch has a central or somewhat excentric opening. It has been suggested that when the openin g is very narrow, there is co nsid erabl e hindrance to the out 2 flow of milk. In a few cases a hori zontal membrane of connective tissue may form whi ch completel y separates the two parts of the cis- Fi g .~ .- rosa section o f the udde r ahowinR ' tern at this point, resulting in a ( I ) med ian auapenaory li i!_tttne nt ; (2) cistern of gland ; (3) milk dum. (From Ru beli ) blind or imperforate quarter. Above the teat c.istern is found the cistern of the gland portion of the udder. Its fun ction is to ac ommodate the milk as it is being secreted and store it during the interval between milkings. The cistern of the gland is a large cavity or sinus of variable size and conformation.