Length of metacarpal and metatarsal bones in five Iranian sheep breeds and their associations with ungula measurements

Table 2 Pearson’s correlations between metacarpal and metatarsal bones and hoof size measurements^a in 2-year-old untrimmed pastured ewes

	L1, mm	D1, mm	L2, mm	D2, mm	X1, mm	X2, mm	X3, mm
Pars dorsalis length, mm	0.29^*	0.30^*	0.33^*	0.31^*	0.16^*	0.10^*	0.07
Pars dorsalis length to the corona, mm	0.32^*	0.33^*	0.31^*	0.31^*	−0.07	− 0.14^*	− 0.07
Pars dorsalis height to the ground, mm	0.30^*	0.33^*	0.35^*	0.34^*	0.24^*	0.17^*	0.07
Pars dorsalis height to the solea cornea, mm	0.34^*	0.36^*	0.36^*	0.36^*	0.09	0.01	0.01
Solea length, mm	0.31^*	0.33	0.34^*	0.34^*	0.14^*	0.06	0.04
Solea cornea in the pars dorsalis region, mm	0.07	0.08	0.08	0.09	0.08	0.03	−0.02
Solea cornea thickness in the pars mobilis lateralis/medialis region, mm	−0.03	− 0.02	−0.03	− 0.03	0.00	0.02	0.01
Pars mobilis lateralis and medialis height, mm	−0.10^*	−0.07	− 0.03	−0.02	0.30^*	0.31^*	0.12^*
Pars dorsalis angle, degree	−0.01	0.00	−0.03	−0.01	− 0.08	−0.08	− 0.05
Pars dorsalis height to the solea cornea to pars mobilis lateralis and medialis height ratio	0.32^*	0.31^*	0.28^*	0.27^*	−0.23^*	−0.29^*	− 0.11^*

^aMetacarpal and metatarsal bone measurements include: Distance from the margo proximalis lateralis to the lateral (L1) and medial (D1) cartilago physialis; distance from the margo proximalis lateralis to the margo abaxialis of the lateral (L2) and medial (D2) caput; distance from cartilago physialis lateralis to the margo abaxialis of the lateral caput (X1); distance from the cartilago physialis medialis to the margo distalis of the caput ridge (X2); and distance from the margo axialis of the cartilago physialis axialis to the margo axialis of the lateral caput (X3)
^*P < 0.05

ISSN: 1746-6148