Abstract

Aims: 
The distal condyles of the right and left metacarpals vary and can be used to determine sex in goats. Here, the study was planned to analyze the morphometric variation of distal condyles and identify right and left metacarpal bones from both sexes of goats.
Methods:
Thirty right and left metacarpals from both sexes of goat (total 120 bones) were collected from the local slaughterhouse. These metacarpals were processed to form the dried bones by removing muscles and other tissue, followed by sun drying. A morphometric study was performed, and the data obtained was analyzed using STATA. A students’ t-test was used to determine the statistically significance difference in the morphometry of distal condyles between right and left metacarpals from both sexes of goats.
Results:
The mediolateral width of the medial (MLMc) and lateral (MLLc) condyles of the right metacarpal were  1.32±0.12 and 1.11±0.07 mm, respectively, in a male goat. However, the widths of the condyles (MLMc and MLLc) were a little variable ( 1.29±0.10, 1.07±0.06 mm, respectively) in the case of the left metacarpal of the male goats. In the female goat, the width of MLMc and  MLLc were 1.19±0.11 and 1.03±0.09 mm, respectively, in the right metacarpals. Again, the widths of the condyles (MLMc and MLLc) were a little variable (1.15±0.02, 1.01±0.07 mm, respectively) in the case of the left metacarpal of the female goat.
Conclusion:
All these reference values obtained from the study are essential for anatomy educators and students to precisely identify the right and left metacarpal bones of goats of both sexes.

Key words: Morphometry, Distal condyles, Identification, Comparative anatomy, Metacarpals, Sex determination, Goat.