Cattle Udder Anatomy

The developments of milk ducts and the milk secreting tissue take place between puberty and parturition. The medial laminae are more elastic especially cranially than the lateral laminae and are paired.

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Tiny cells remove water and nutrients from the blood and convert it into milk.

Cattle udder anatomy. There are three veins on each side that carry blood away from the gland. Four separate glands or quarters. As a result some drainage from venous ring passes in a cranial direction via this vessel which then drains deeply through the abdominal wall milk well into the internal thoracic vein.

Composed of fibrous tissue non elastic provides support for the udder. The udder is divided into quarters corresponding to the four glands each bearing a principle teat. The production of milk is dependent on management techniques including proper feeding watering and breeding programs.

This is the large vein that is visible under. If the cows teat is squeezed it produces a squirt of milk and is either saved in tanks or feeds a suckling calf. Subcutaneous abdominal vein milk vein exits the gland at the anterior end of the front quarters and passes along abdominal wall.

The appearance of the udder varies depending on maturity and functional status. External pudendal vein leaves the udder parallel to the external pudendal arteries. The milk forms into droplets and drips into a cistern which holds the milk.

In cattle a venous ring is formed between the base of the udder and the abdominal wall. The interior of each quarter of the udder is composed of a teat cistern a gland cistern milk ducts and glandular tissue. A cows udder has four compartments with one teat hanging from each.

Veins leave the mammary gland anti parallel to the arteries. Caudally the medial laminae are more collagenous and originate from the subpelvic tendon. The coarse areolar or cordlike tissue forms a loose bond between the dorsal surface of the front quarters and abdominal wall.

Composed of two elastic layers of tissue it attaches the udder to the cow s abdomen and separates the left and right halves of the udder. The superficial fascia or areolar subcutaneous tissue attaches the skin to underlying the tissue and is another minor support for the cow s udder. The above photo shows one quarter of a cow each cow has 4 of what is shown above.

Mammary systemis the system. The main parts of the udder are. During the first pregnancy an anastamosis develops between cranial and caudal superficial epigastric veins forming the subcutaneous abdominal vein milk vein.

The udder continues to increase in cell size. In cattle it is composed of four individual glands known as quarters. Responsible for producing milk after parturition.

The surface anatomy external features of the bovine udder. The udder of a dairy cow consists of four separate glands suspended by medial and lateral collagenous laminae. These ligaments partially envelope the right and left halves of the udder and do not stretch as the gland fills with milk.

To the sixth month of gestation. In dairy cows it is very large and can weigh up to 60 kg. It includes teats udder fore and rear udder attachments alveoli suspensory ligaments mammary veins and milk wells.

When the calf fetus is six months the udder is almost fully developed with four separate glands and a median ligament teat and gland cisterns. Weakening of these causes the udder to break away from abdominal wall.

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