Carcass and Ultrasound Measurements. There was
good agreement between carcass (Table 1) and
ultrasound measurements (Figure 2) of s.c. adipose
tissue thickness and longissimus muscle cross-sectional
area. The rate of s.c. adipose tissue accretion
was still increasing in BH and HH calves by the end of
the study, whereas s.c. adipose tissue accumulation in
BB and HB calves had virtually ceased by wk 5
(Figure 2A). By slaughter, BB and HB steers had the
least s.c. adipose tissue thickness at the 12th-13th rib,
and BH and HH steers had significantly greater (P <
.05) s.c. adipose tissue thickness. Total s.c. fatty acid
content (g/100 g s.c. adipose tissue), which is the sum
of all identifiable fatty acids, was significantly less in
BB steers than in BH steers. The HB and HH steers
were intermediate (Table 1).