AUSCULTATION. 503 



distance above these ends, so that these costal cartilages and 

 the lower ends of the last ribs cover the abdominal organs 

 only. The large muscular masses situated on each side of 

 the back-bone prevent any correct exploration of the upper 

 part of the lung, while the extensive pectoral muscle lying on 

 each side of the breast-bone interferes with the examination 

 of the extreme lower portion. On the whole, it may be 

 accepted, that no more than about two-thirds of the chest in 

 solipedes afford physical indications with any amount of 

 precision. 



Ox. In the bovine race, as a rule, a greater extent of the 

 thoracic walls is exposed. The shoulder is very mobile, and 

 may be carried forwards considerably by raising and advanc- 

 ing the limb. By flexing the member, and pushing the 

 shoulder backwards, the two first ribs may be felt in very 

 lean animals or calves, and the anterior part of the thorax 

 subjected to examination. In such a case, nearly the whole 

 thorax may be satisfactorily explored. This is at best an ex- 

 treme case, and in well-conditioned, and especially fat animals, 

 this part is little, if at all, more accessible to examination than 

 in the horse. In the ox the breast-bone is flat, causing a greater 

 width of the chest, and the presence of a greater amount of 

 lung tissue inferiorly than is possessed in the horse; this, 

 with the relatively greater thinness of the pectoral muscle, 

 renders the examination of the lower part of the chest more 

 satisfactory than in that animal. The flattened condition of 

 the sternum, moreover, enables us to examine through this 

 bone the thoracic organs situated immediately above. The 

 posterior limits of exploration likewise differ from those in 

 the horse. The diaphragm in this race is not attached on the 

 last rib, it is only fixed to the upper third of the next or 

 twelfth rib, and from this forwards its insertions are taken 

 gradually lower until the ninth, the lower fifth of which alone 



