138 THE ARTISTIC ANATOMY OF ANIMALS 



of special interest is the detail of form which it determines 

 in the region of the flank ; this detail is the cord of the flank. 

 It is characterized by an elongated prominence which, 

 starting from the iliac spine, is directed obliquely down- 

 wards and forwards, to terminate near the cartilaginous 

 border of the false ribs. 



Often ver^^ apparent in the ox, and still more so in the 

 cow, the cord in question contrasts with the depression 

 which surmounts it ; this depression is situated below the 

 costiform processes of the lumbar vertebrae, and is called 

 the hollow of the flank. It is so much the more marked 

 as the mass of the intestinal viscera is of greater weight. 



We sometimes meet with a case of the presence of this 

 hollow in the horse. But when in the latter, the flank 

 is well formed, the hollow is scarcely visible, and the cord 

 but slightly prominent. It is only in emaciated subjects 

 that these details are found clearly marked. 



Transversalis Abdominis. — This muscle being deeply 

 situated does not present any interest for us. We will, 

 however, point out, in order to complete the series 

 of muscles which form the abdominal wall, that the 

 direction of its iibres is transverse, and that they extend 

 from the internal surface of the cartila.ges of the false 

 ribs, and the costiform processes of the lumbar vertebrae 

 to the linea alba. 



The Rectus Abdominis (Fig. 67, 13 ; Fig. 68, 6). — 

 This muscle, enclosed, as it is in man, in a fibrous sheath 

 (Fig. 67, 9) formed by the aponeuroses of the lateral 

 muscles of the abdomen, is a long and wide fleshy band, 

 which, as in the human species, reaches from the thorax to 

 the pubis. 



What distinguishes it in quadrupeds is that there are 

 costal attachments which extend further on the sternal 

 surface of the thorax, and the number of its aponeurotic 

 insertions, which, in general, is more considerable. These 

 are, indeed, six or seven in number in the pig and in 

 ruminants, and about ten in the horse. 



It is true that we may find but three in the cat and 

 dog ; still, we often find as many as six. These intersections 



