PELVIC LIMBS 



705 



pointed end is directed upward. They are everywhere rough for 

 tendinous attachment, except at the part presenting a smooth, rounded 

 facet applied to the smooth space at the upper posterior part of the 

 articular surface of the femoral condyle. 



The third sesamoid is at the outer side of the joint, in the tendon 

 of the popliteus muscle, near its origin on the outer condyle of the 

 femur. It resembles a small patella, but is more nearly round. Its 

 outer surface is convex, the line of maximum convexity crossing the 

 surface obliquely. The inner surface is transversely faintly convex 

 and definitely concave from end to end, thus conforming to the rounded 

 posterior part of the outer condyle of the tibia, on which it moves. 



THE TIBIA. 



FIG. 541. 



Vertebral Column. 



Hyoid. 



Clavicle. 

 Sternum. 



Metacarpus. 



Metatarsus. 

 Phalanges. 



THE SKELETON OF THE CAT. (LEFT SIDE ONLY.) 



General Description. Of the two bones of the leg, the inner 

 one, or the Tibia, is the longer and stronger, and is the longest bone 

 in the skeleton (Fig. 541) ; its broad upper end articulates with the 

 femur at the knee-joint, and its lower end articulates at the ankle- 

 joint with the ankle bone, the astragalus. Inasmuch as the other bone 

 of the leg, the fibula, does not articulate with the femur above, and, 

 though forming part of the ankle-joint, is applied merely to the outer 

 side of the astragalus, the tibia is by far the more important bone of 

 the leg. It is nearly straight, heavy and prismatic above, more slender 

 and rounded below. The front part is subcutaneous, but not so imme- 

 diately under the skin as is the human tibia, because of the downward 



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