AGE CHANGES IN THE LINEAR SIZES OF THE BONES OF THE PELVIC LIMB SHEEP OF THE KARAKUL BREED

In order to determine the influence of habitat conditions on the morphofunctional features of the bones of Karakul sheep and mechanisms of adaptation to them, the postnatal ontogenesis of the pelvic limb bones was studied in Karakul sheep bred in the foothill pastures of Uzbekistan in different periods of postnatal ontogenesis. Over the entire study period, that is, from 2-5 days to 4 years of age, the intensity of linear growth of the pelvic limb bones decreases. The highest growth rate is observed at birth up to 30 days of age. From 3 to 6 months, the growth rates decrease and remain unchanged up to 12 months. From 12 to 18 months, another decrease in growth rates is observed and remains so until the end of the research. The bones of the tarsus have the lowest intensity of growth in length, then the intensity of growth increases in the proximal and distal directions. In the pelvic bone, the transverse grows more vigorously, and in the bones of the free limb, their longitudinal dimensions. Age-related changes in relative linear sizes directly correlate with changes in the intensity of their growth. The ratio of the width, thickness of the diaphysis and epiphyses of bones to their length, as well as changes in the constituent elements (tubercles, processes) are due to the load on the skeleton, general biological laws, and apparently functional changes in other elements of the musculoskeletal system acting on them, under the influence of conditions of detention and breed patterns of development.