98 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



PART II. 



THE BODY. 



CHAPTER I. 



SUPERIOR FACE OF THE BODY. 



A.— The Neck. 



Situation ; Limits ; Anatomical Base. — The neck is a sin- 

 gle region, flattened from side to side, situated at the anterior extrem- 

 ity of the trunk and supporting the head. Free on its lateral faces, 

 it is limited in front and above by the jjoll, the parotid region, and 

 the throat; behind and below by the unthers, the shoulders, and the 

 breast. 



It has for its osseous base a bony axis formed by the cervical ver- 

 tebrge, sustained superiorly by the two portions of the nuchal ligament 

 and enveloped completely by numerous and voluminous muscles. The 

 trachea, the oesophagus, the arteries, the veins, the lymphatics, and, 

 finally, the nerves leading to the head, occupy its inferior border. The 

 mane adorns its superior border. 



This region is an important one to study, because it constitutes at the 

 anterior part of the trunk the arm of a lever more or less long, whose 

 extremity gives attachment to the head, which is a kind of resistance 

 that follows all its displacements and concurs with it to modify the sit- 

 uation of the centre of gravity during progressive movements. 



Divisions. — Whatever may be the particular form of the region 

 of the neck, it may be represented as a pyramid flattened from side to 

 side, the base of which corresponds to its posterior and the summit to 

 its anterior extremity. Its periphery presents, besides, two faces, a 

 right and a left, and a superior and inferior border. 



1. Lateral Faces. — Each of the lateral faces is traversed over its 

 entire length by a round thickening corresponding to the cervical ver- 

 tebrae covered by the muscles, the most superficial of which is the mas- 

 toido-humeralis. Above this enlargement is an irregularly-triangular 



