Effects of Different Measurement Techniques and Operators on Bovine Longissimus Dorsi Area1

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different operators and methods on the errors associated with measuring l. dorsi area. Four different techniques were used to measure l. dorsi area: (1) counting grids 0.645 cm.2 in area, (2) counting dots with each dot in the center of a 0.645-cm.2 square, (3) measuring the tracing of the outline of the l. dorsi muscle on acetate paper with a planimeter and (4) measuring the projection of a 35-mm. transparency. Cutting errors contribute most of the inconsistency in determination of cross-sectional area. The four different techniques differed significantly in the area values obtained, but these differences were small compared with differences in l. dorsi area between right and left sides. The method of tracing projected photographs of the cross-sectional area with a planimeter was more precise than other methods. However, the tracing, grid and dot methods had relatively low standard deviations and appear to be adequate for accurately measuring l. dorsi area. The ease and rapidity of obtaining cross-sectional area by using the grid and dot methods make them valuable for measuring large numbers of carcasses. All correlations among different methods and among different operators were high. Correlations between l. dorsi areas traced on the right and left sides were lowest, suggesting that method and operating errors in l. dorsi area measurement are small compared with cutting errors. Copyright © 1966. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1966 by American Society of Animal Science

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