The thickness of the skin in improved breeds is 1 to 2 mm. Fat usually
accumulates in the subcutis and forms a distinct and often extremely
thick panniculus adiposus over the greater part of the body.
The sebaceous glands are in general small and much fewer than in the
other animals. The sweat glands, on the other hand, are large, yellow or
brownish in color, and are in many places visible to the naked eye. At
the inner side of the carpus there are small cutaneous diverticula, the
so-called carpal glands, into which numerous compound coil glands open.
Large glands also occur in the skin of the digits and interdigital
space. Compound tubular glands are present in the skin of the snout.
Large sebaceous and sweat glands are found at the entrance to the
preputial diverticulum.
The hairs are sparsely scattered in improved breeds—indeed, in some
cases the skin is almost bare. The long hairs or bristles are arranged
usually in groups of three. They are most developed on the neck and
back. The bristles about the snout and the chin are sinus hairs.
The =claws= and their matrix resemble those of the ox, but the bulbs are
more prominent and form a greater part of the ground surface; they are
also better defined from the sole, which is small. The claws of the
accessory digits are more developed and their parts better
differentiated than those of the ox.
The olfactory region is extensive in correlation with the large size of
the olfactory bulbs; the mucous membrane here is brown in color.