Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals |  |
Chapter Summary| In anatomy and physiology, farm animals are similar in many respects. All have skeletal, muscular, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, reproductive, nervous, and urinary systems. Each of these systems performs the same general function within each individual in the many different species. Abnormalities of anatomy and physiology may be of an inherited or an environmental origin. These can greatly impair proper functioning and morphology of the body and may even cause death.
The blueprint for proper development and function of each individual is carried within the genetic material (DNA) of the fertilized egg. These blueprints are followed closely in the anatomical and physiological development of an individual. However, they can be modified to a certain extent by factors within the environment, such as nutrition and disease. The blueprint in the DNA calls for a pig to be a pig and a calf to be a calf. This part of the blueprint is followed to completion without exception.
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education