BOTANY

Detailed explanation-1: -Three distinct anatomical regions are associated with hair: the cuticle, the cortex, and the medulla. Using a wooden pencil as an analogy, we can think of the cuticle as the paint on the outside of the pencil, the cortex as the wooden portion of the pencil, and the medulla as the graphite.

Detailed explanation-2: -The wood of the pencil is analogous to the cortex of a hair. Human hair has cuticle scales that are flattened and narrow, also called imbricate. Animal hair had different types of cuticles that is described and pictured later in the chapter under animal hair. The cuticle is a transparent outer layer of the hair shaft.

Detailed explanation-3: -The medulla is a collection of cells having the appearance of a central canal running down the center of the hair. Medulla are generally classified as continuous, interrupted, fragmented, or absent. Human head hairs have fragmented patterns or are absent. Most animals have either a continuous or interrupted pattern.

Detailed explanation-4: -Absent, Fragmental and Continuous. In the Present Study medulla has been classified into Absent, Fragmented, Discontinuous and Continuous types (Photo attached).

Detailed explanation-5: -The Absent type has been found to be the commonest while the Continuous type is the least. The order of preponderance of the medulla types is Absent > Fragmented > Discontinuous > Continuous as is evident from Table 1.