Fig. 2

Gross appearance of Holstein fetuses during late gestation. a–c Holstein fetuses delivered by caesarean section on gestation day 253 (a), 260 (b) and 273 (c). The fetuses differed in body weight (23.0, 33.7 and 52.5 kg for fetus a, b and c, respectively) and crown rump length (96, 95 and 104 cm for fetus a, b and c, respectively). When directly compared to each other, fetus a and b appear more immature than fetus c; an observation that may be biased by the smaller size of these two fetuses, as it is difficult to define what the “premature appearance” represents as the fetuses are otherwise fully developed