THE EFFICIENCY OF THE MAMMARY GLAND IN THE PRODUCTION OF MILK

Abstract

By detns. of the relation of blood flow to milk yield and the arterial-venous differences in CO2 and O2, the gross efficiency of the lactating mammary gland of dairy goats has been computed to be slightly more than 90%. The calculations include the maintenance energy of the mammary tissue in addition to the cost of the synthesis of milk. The normal ratio of blood flow to milk yield was observed to be between 150 and 250 parts to 1.