PHYSIOLOGICAL PARADOXES. 



; 2. The Cab-horse as a Ballet Dancer. 



Our inevitable perception of the close cor- 

 respondence in structure between our bodies 

 and those of other animals has naturally led 

 to the practice of calling similar parts by the 

 same names ; but in some cases popular im- 

 pressions have been at variance with the actual 

 facts. 



What we call knees in horses, cows, sheep, 

 and other quadrupeds are by no means the 

 joints which correspond to the knees in men. 



If we look at human and equine skeletons 

 we shall see this plainly. 



First, take the human lower limb and the 

 horse's hind leg. 



In our own bodies the first part of this limb 

 is called the thigh, and the thigh-bone, or femur, 

 is hinged to the skeleton frame at the hip- 

 joint. 



The corresponding hip-joint in the horse is 

 shown at A in Fig. 64, as in the man it is at B. 



That the diagram gives a fair representa- 

 tion of the skeleton structure in the two animals 

 can easily be seen by referring to Plate VII., 

 which gives a view of the admirable arrange- 

 ment at the Natural History Museum, South 

 Kensington, of human and equine skeletons 

 placed together for the purpose of comparison. 



The next joint below the hip-joint is that 

 between the lower end of the femur and the 



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