bono, tho tibiul nrch. Its superior .<///;///;/, wide imd flatt. JK -d mi lxth 

 sides, has received the name <>f Itnul ; it oilers, on its internal lac.. ;i 

 diarthrodial facet to articulate with tho external and superior tuberosity 

 of tho tibia; on its external face it shows liganicntous imprints. Tho 

 inferior ejtri'initii of tho fibula terminates in a blunt point, and gives 

 attachment to tho ligamentous fibres that unite it to the tibia. 



The fibula is sometimes continued to tho external inferior tubcrosity 

 of the latter bone, with which it is confounded ; and as it is particularly 

 under such circumstances that this tuberosity has been noticed to bo deve- 

 loped from a special nucleus, it seems quite natural, having regard to 

 the disposition observed in pachyderms and carnivores, to consider it as 

 the inferior extremity of the fibula joined to tho tibia. With these animals, 

 indeed, the tuberosity or external malleolus is formed by the inferior ex- 

 tremity of tho fibula. 



Structure and development. This bono is very compact, and developed 

 from a single nucleus of ossification. 



3. Patella. 



A small, short, and very compact bone, situated in front of tho femoral 

 trochlea, and annexed to the tibia, to which it is attached by three extremely 

 solid ligamentous bands. 



The small polyhedron which it represents only offers for observation 

 three faces : the superior, roughened, and serving for the insertion of tho 

 triceps cruralis and rectus muscles ; the anterior, convex and irregular ; and 

 the third, the potterior, moulded on the femoral trochlea, to which it is but 

 imperfectly adapted. In tho fresh state, however, the articular surface 

 formed by the latter face is completed by a fibro-cartilaginous apparatus, 

 which will be noticed when describing the femoro-tibial articulation. This 

 articular surface is composed : 1, Of a median ridge, which occupies the 

 bottom of the trochlear cavity ; 2, Of two depressed, gliding, lateral facets 

 on the sides of this cavity ; the internal facet is always larger than the 

 external, a disposition which permits the patella of one limb to be distin- 

 guished from that of the other. 



POSTERIOR FOOT. 



This region, which bears the greatest resemblance to the same region in 

 the anterior limb, comprises three subdivisions : the tarsus, tnntatarsus, 

 and the digital region. 



1. Bones of the Tarsus. 



These are short, very compact bones, six or seven in number, and 

 situated between the inferior extremity of the tibia and tho superior 

 extremity of tho metatarsal bones ; they are arranged, like tho bones of 

 the carpus, in two tiers a superior and an inferior. 



The superior row only comprises two bones, tho largest ; these are tho 

 astragalus and the calcaneus (or colds). Tho inferior row is formed, out- 

 wardly, by tho cuboides alone; inwardly and anteriorly, it is subdivided 

 into two secondary rows, tho superior of which is constituted by tho 

 scaphoides, and the inferior by the lart/c and small cuneiform bones. The 

 last is sometimes divided into two, in which case there are three cuneiforms ; 

 then tho total number of the bones is seven. 



Astragalus. An irregular cubical bone, situated in front of tho 



