Dental anatomy of yak (Bos grunniens)

Gross and radiographic anatomical study of the dental arch of yak revealed deeply and firmly anchored 8 incisors in the lower jaw. The length of the r oot was twice that of the crown in the incisors. Further the labial surface of the incisors bore a longitudinal groove which has not been described in any ruminant so far. The 6 cheek teeth occupied a length of 8.32+/- 0.6cm and 4.36+/-0.3cm on either side in the maxillae and mandibulae respectively . The crown length of the maxillary teeth was constantly more than that of the mandibular cheek teeth. In the upper jaw P-1 and P-2 had 2 roots while P-3, M-1, M-2, and M-3 had 3 roots, whereas, in the lower jaw all teeth had 2 roots only.