2 DISEASES OF DOMESTICATED BIRDS 
Nasal Lachrymal Guadai 
‘ Quadrate @ 
ce | “Occipital tee Sl 
Se é ; ---Metacarpus 
a pus 
Pygostyle 
“~Metatarsus 
Fic. 1. The skeleton of the fowl. (Bradley) 
The thoracic vertebrae are nearly always fused together by the con- 
solidation of their spinous and transverse processes. The first may 
be free and the last may be fused with the lumbar vertebre. 
The lumbar and sacral regions of the vertebral column show no 
special line of demarcation. The fourteen vertebre are consoli- 
dated into one bony mass which carries ridges on its ventral surface 
representing the transverse processes of the original independent 
vertebree. 
The coccygeal vertebre are seven in number. The last is the 
largest, is flattened on both sides and curves in a dorsal direction 
