escutcheon (redirected from escutcheon of pretense)

escutcheon /es·cutch·eon/ (es-kuch´un) the pattern of distribution of the pubic hair.

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escutcheon

the shield-like pattern of distribution of the haircoat in the area below the vulva, down to the top of the udder, in the cow. The escutcheon itself is composed of hairs which lie vertically downwards; its edges consist of a well-demarcated ridge created when this vertically inclined hair meets the horizontally inclined hair of the lateral aspect of the thigh. Wishful-thinking herdsmen used to read predictions of milking capacity into the shape of the escutcheon of a dairy cow.