Description of Anatomy of the Tail
Gross Anatomy of the Tail
The tail of animals is made of a number of vertebrae which varies with animal species. Like any other organ, these vertebrae are covered by muscles and skin, which are all supplied by blood vessels and nerves. A caudectomy procedure is performed by making an incision in the space between two vertebrae.
The table below shows the number of coccygeal vertebrae among different animal species and the suggested time to perform a caudectomy procedure.
- Pigs: A caudectomy procedure is performed on piglets of 1 to 7 days, as they normally have 20 to 23 Coccygeal vertebrae and 2.5cm (one inch) of the tail remains attached to the piglet.
- Sheep: A caudectomy procedure is performed on lambs between 1 and 3 months, as they normally have 16 to 18 coccygeal vertebras. A small part of the tail must remain to cover the external reproductive organs and the anus.
- In the case of tail inflammation, a caudectomy procedure can be performed for any animal of any age.
