36 TEE BONES. 



as those of the Horse ; but their spinous processes are in general narrower and thicker. The 

 tenth always has its spiuouss process vertical, triangular, and terminated in a sharp point. The 

 last three liave no posterior facets tor tJie articulation of tlie heads of the ribs, and exhibit, in 

 the conformation of their articular processes, the same disposition as the lumbar vertebrae. In 

 the Cat, the transverse processes of the three last dorsal vertebrae are thin, sharp, and turned 

 backwards ; they never possess facets for the tuberosity of the ribs. 



F. Rabbit. — The twelve dorsal vertebrae of this animal are similar to those of the Cat. 

 But the spinous process of the first nine is thinner and more oblique, while that of the three 

 last is higher and thinner than in the Cat. Besides, the transverse process is continued, in 

 the Rabbit, by a triangular portion which increases the width of the vertebral lamina. The 

 inferior face of the body is more hollowed in its middle portion, and the inferior crest is more 

 salient than in the Cat. 



3. Lumbar Vertebra (Figs. 21, 22). 



General Characters. — A little longer and wider than the dorsal vertebrae, 

 which they resemble in the arrangement of their bodies, these vertebrae are 

 characterized : 1. By their short, thin, and wide spinous processes, which are slightly 

 inclined forwards, and are provided at their summits with a scabrous tubercle. 



2. By their largely developed trans- 

 ^'S- 21- verse processes, flattened above and 



below, and directed horizontally 

 outwards.^ 3. By the salient an- 

 terior articular pit'ocesses, hollowed 

 out on each side, and provided ex- 

 ternally with a tubercle for inser- 

 tion. 4. By their equally prominent 

 posterior articular processes, rounded 

 in the form of a half -hinge. 



Specific Characters. — The 

 LUMBAR VERTEBRA (FRONT VIEW). charactcristics which may serve to 



1. Body ; 2, its articular face ; 3, superior spinous distinguish these Vertebrae from 

 process ; 4, spinal foramen ; 5, anterior articular Qjjg another, are derived from the 

 processes ; 6, 6, tran>verse, or costiform processes ; , t , , . -, , 



7, posterior articular process. oody, and the spmous and trans- 



verse processes. 1. From the first 

 to the last there is a progressive diminution in the vertical diameter of the bodies, 

 and an increase in their transverse diameter. The inferior spine on the body 

 becomes shorter and wider from the first to the last vertebra ; in the six vertebrae 

 it resembles an elongated triangle, the summit of which is directed forwards. 



2. The spinous processes decrease in width from before to behind, and their 

 anterior border becomes more and more concave ; their summits are thickened 

 and tuberculated in the three first, and thin and sloping forward in the three last. 



3. The transverse processes are longer in the middle vertebrae than in those placed 

 before and behind. The processes in the first and second vertebrae incline slightly 

 backward ; in the third they are more upright ; and in the succeeding ones they 

 are directed a little forward. In the last two they are remarkable for their thick- 

 ness ; in the fifth an oval-shaped articular facet is observed on their posterior 

 ])order ; in the sixth, two are present — one in front, corresponding to the pre- 

 ceding, and one behind, slightly concave, meeting a similar facet on the sacrmn. 

 The fourth and fifth vertebrae very often correspond, at their transverse processes, 

 by means of analogous facets. 



' Rudimentary ribs are sometimes found attached by ligaments to the extremities of the 

 transverse processes (Lesbre). 



