Estimation of Volume of Ox Brain and Gray and White Matter with Cavalier’s Principle

We estimated the volume values, ratios, and the relationship between brain weight and volumetric values of gray and white matter of the ox brain. Six fresh brains of Holstein-Friesian strain healthy ox (17-20 months old) were used. Fresh weights of the brains were measured using digital weighing. Brains were fixed by immersion method in 10% formalin solution for 3 weeks before measurements of gray and white matter volumes using Cavalieri’s principle. The brains were serially cut using a salami slicer machine (Elta GmBH, Roedermark, Germany) with a mean thickness of 8.25 mm from rostral to caudal end and averages of 11 sections were obtained from the brains. The brain volume was 348.00 ± 50.48 cm3, 175.70 ± 11.11 cm3 in gray matter volume and 172.30 ± 42.90 cm3 in white matter volume. Volume ratios of gray and white matter were 50.98% and 49.02% respectively. The ratio of brain weight to brain volume was 1. The ratio of gray and white matter in the brain of the ox is similar to that of the gray and white matter in the human brain, but that the sheep and horse are different