CHAPTER III. 



ANATOMY. 



Anatomy is a description of the structures that make up the body. 



THE SKELETON. 



(Plate III.)' 



The skeleton is the framework for the support of the softer struc 

 tures, and is composed of 216 bones (exclusive of the teeth) of various 

 sizes and forms. 



Flat bones, such as the skull, ribs, and scapula, are found covering 

 vital organs ; long bones are found principally in the extremities, for 

 the support of the body. 



The spinal column is composed of bones of very irregular shape, 

 which are divided into five groups according to their location, and are 

 known as vertehrsp. Commencing at the back of the head, the first 

 seven are called tlie cervical vertebrae, or bones of the neck; of these 

 the first is called atlas, the second axis; the next eighteen are called 

 the dorsal vertebras, forming the main part of the back; the next six, 

 the lumbar vertebrae, form the loins; the croup or sacrum is. com- 

 posed of five bones, which in the adult animal are united together as 

 one bone; and following this are found the coccygeal or tail bones, 

 numbering from thirteen to twenty. All vertebrae have irregular 

 projections of varying length, called spinous processes; these are 

 named, according to location, dorsal, cervical, etc. ; the third to sixth 

 dorsal spinous processes (often called dorsal spines) are very long 

 and form the withers. 



The ribs are eighteen on each side, attached above to the dorsal 

 vertebrae. The first eight (true or fixed ribs) are attached below, by 

 cartilage, to the sternum or breastbone; the remaining ten (false or 

 floating ribs) are attached by cartilage to one another and indirectly 

 to the sternum ; they form the walls of the chest and serve as a pro- 

 tection for the heart, lungs, and large blood vessels. 



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