HAUNCH-BO x\ES, OR PELVIS. 351 



of the chest is thirty-seven. The dorsal vertebrae also form the 

 upper part of the chest, or thorax. 



The breast-hone, or sternum, occupies the forward and under 

 part of the chest. It is a flat bone, each end of which term- 

 inates in a cartilage. It gives attachment to the lower, or car- 

 tilaginous, ends of the eight true ribs. Many strong muscles 

 are also attached to it. 



The ribs are thirty-six in number, eighteen on each side, 

 eight of which, on each side, are called true ribs, and ten, false 

 ribs. The ribs are long and somewhat flat bones, the forward 

 edges of which are rounded, and the posterior, or back, edges 

 sharp. The upper end of each rib is called its head, and im- 

 mediately below the head is a rounded smaller part, called the 

 neck. The lower ends of the ribs terminate in cartilages, 

 which, in the true ribs, connect immediately w\i\\ the breast- 

 bone. The cartilages of the false ribs are connected with each 

 other, and with the cartilage of the last true rib. 



The ribs are curved in their shape, the degree of curvature 

 increasing from the first until the last. 



The bones of the chest furnish protection to the principal 

 organs concerned in breathing and the circulation of the blood, 

 as the lungs, heart, the large arteries, etc. Many of the most 

 important and powerful muscles of the animal are attached to 

 the bones of the chest. The depth, roundness, and capacity of 

 the chest is a good index to the capability of the horse for 

 labor or exertion. Without good room for lungs, and good, 

 large, strong heart, no horse can possess those qualities of 

 strength and endurance which render him a valuable servant. 

 Such heart and lungs can not exist in a flat, diminutive chest. 



HAUNCH-BONES, OR PELVIS. 

 The haunch-hones are two in number, called, in anatomy, 

 '' ossa innominata,'' which means unnamed bones. Each bone 

 of the pelvis is attached to the side of the sacrum, or rump- 

 bone, by its forward end, which is broad from before backward, 



