Abstract
Morphometrical analysis of the cervical vertebrae of thoroughbred foals was performed by a principal component analysis method. Foals without any spinal ataxia, consisting o f 26 males (4-21 months of age) and 13 females (5-23 months of age), were used. The cervical vertebrae ( from C3 to C7) were collected from these foals and bone morphometry on 28 measurements in each vertebra was performed. As a result, the first, second and third principal components were considered as the size, shape and sex factor, respectively. The combination o f the first and second principal components discriminated each cervical vertebral site clearly. The characteristic relationship between the second principal component and age was defined.
