7— ANATOMY OF THE DOG 



with each other slightly. As the dog becomes 

 older, the radius and ulna may ossify into 

 each other. 



The prominence which we know commonly 

 as the elbow is the top of the ulna altho the 

 elbow proper includes also the pulley-like joint 

 thru which the humerus joins the radius. 

 The Pastern of the Dosr 



The radius and ulna run into the carpus or 

 pastern, which in turn is composed of seven 

 or eight bones in two rows, one above the 

 other. 



Bones of Front Foot 



The metacarpal bones, five in number, move 

 with the bones of the carpus at the top and 

 with the bones of the toes at the bottom. 



The bones of the toes are known as digits, 

 five of them, each composed of three phalanges, 

 except that the first or inside usually has only 

 two and compares to the human thumb. 

 The Rear Running Gear 



We come now to hindquarters of the dog, 

 comparable to legs of the human. The hipbone 

 or pelvic limb begins at the backbone with the 

 ileum and is shaped somewhat like the shoul- 

 der blade, sloping however towards the front 

 at about a 45 degree angle. 



The other two bones of the hip are the 

 ischeum and the pubis. These are fused to- 

 gether in the adult animal to form the pelvic 

 structure previously mentioned. 

 Formation of Rump 



The ileum articulates with the sacrum ; 

 above the level of the latter, the ileum forms 

 a prominence known as the angle of the croup 

 or rump. 



**" What is the Stifle Joint? 



Below the hip joint is the thigh bone or 

 femur, which corresponds to the humerus of 

 the front. It is a long stout bone extending 

 downward and frontward from the hip joint 

 above to the stifle joint below. It corresponds 

 in the human to the bone from the hip joint 

 to the knee, supporting the thigh. 



When we speak of the hip joint being dis- 

 located in a dog, we mean tiiat the femur 

 has gotten out^ of the socket of the hip bone 

 or pelvic combination, an easy happening due 

 to the shallowness of the socket. 



Knee Cap Slips EUisily 



Where the femur joins the lower bones, 

 tibia and fibula or leg bones, is the knee cap 

 of the human or the stifle joint of the dog. 

 This joint (patella) is long and narrow and 

 held loosely in place by a single ligament. 

 It also fits into a groove in the femur. If 

 these grooves are not well developed, the knee 

 cap may slip, a condition that is found often 

 in smaller breeds. 



Hockjoint and Hind Feet 



The tibia is a bone about the same length 

 as the femur or thigh bone ; it extends down- 

 ward and backwards from the stifle joint to 

 the hockpoint or tarsus. 



The fibula is a slender bone running almost 

 parallel to the tibia ; it is in the rear and is 

 not nearly so large or curved as is the tibia. 



The tarsus is the hockjoint of the dog. It 



• Artist's sketch of canine skeleton viewed 

 from front (that of doberman pinscher) 



consists of seven bones and corresponds to the 

 human ankle. 



Hockjoint bat no Hock 



The bone connecting the hockjoint with the 

 toes is the metatarsus and is not the hock as 

 some term it (there is no hock — there is only 

 the hockjoint). It consists of five bones run- 

 ning upright and corresponds with the meta- 

 carpal of the front leg. 



The digits or the toes of the rear foot are 

 composed of phalanges and correspond in 

 every way with the bones of the front foot. 

 The dog has 5 toes and four toenails on each 

 foot, the thumb and big toe not having nails. 

 Occasional dew claws, on any of the legs are 

 not considered toenails. Most dogs also have 

 a remnant of a sixth toe also, located above 

 the foot. 



//. THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM OR MOVEMENT 



The muscles are fleshy or meaty, and are 

 elastic bands ; the elasticity produces motion 

 thru contracting and expanding. 



Voluntary and Involantary Muscles 



Muscles are always attached either to a bone 



or to an organ. If the muscles are moved, 

 that is, either contracted or expanded at will, 

 by a message from the brain thru the medium 

 of the nerve, the muscle is termed voluntary. 

 Other muscles particularly those found in 



