THE PASTERN. 



15 



at the bones of a man's hand. Starting from the 

 wrist are five bones, called the ' metacarpals ' — i.e. 

 following the carpus, or wrist. Suppose we call the 

 thumb (as it really is) the first finger, we find that 

 in many animals the third and fourth metacarpals 

 are fused together, either partially or completely. 

 In the modern horse they are fused (anchylosed) so 

 completely, that it is not easy to detect the fact that 

 they are really two bones. But, 

 in the hipparion the line of 

 junction is manifest, and still 

 more so in the anchitherium. 

 A similar line of junction may 

 be seen in the very familiar 

 bones of the oxen and sheep. 



In these latter creatures, 

 however, the third and fourth 

 phalanges diverge, so as to pro- 

 duce the cloven hoof, but in the 



Horse tribe the phalanges, as well as the metacarpals, 

 are fused together, so as to form a series of single 

 bones, as here shown. Here B represents the first of 

 the three finger joints, and is popularly called the 

 Long Pastern bone, c is the middle joint, and is 

 called the Short Pastern, while the last, or ' distal ' 

 joint, is termed the Coffin Bone. How these bones are 

 connected with the hoof we shall see on a future page. 



FINGER OR PASTERN 

 BONES. 



