CHAPTER III. 
THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 
COMMONLY CALLED FLESH. 
MUSCLES are the chief organs of motion, each being 
separated from the other by a thin, delicate mem- 
brane made up of connective tissue, which forms a 
sheath for the muscle. A muscle is divided into two 
parts, viz. : muscular and tendinous. The muscular part is 
the larger of the two. It is sometimes called the belly of the 
muscle. This portipn is known as muscular tissue, and has 
a reddish, meaty color. At both ends of the muscle there is 
a tendinous part, or the hard, white portion of the muscle 
which becomes attached to the bone. All muscles are at- 
tached to two or more places on different bones, and, because 
of their contraction, the joints of the body are moved. They 
are well supplied with nerves, which give strength and feel- 
ing, and also well supplied with small blood vessels, from 
which the muscle is fed. Muscles are found in separate 
groups, all of which have different actions to perform. There 
are two kinds of muscles — voluntary and involuntary. The 
voluntary muscles are under the control of the will of the 
animal ; example — the muscles of the legs, hip, back, head, 
and neck. The involuntary muscles are beyond control of 
the animal, and will act even though the animal were asleep 
— such as those of the heart, the large muscular curtain which 
separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity, which 
is one of the great muscles of breathing; also the muscles 
around the chest which assist in breathing. 
1. Voluntary Muscles are in groups. The first one we 
call attention to, after removing the skin, is the panniculus 
carnosus not shown in plate 11. which is a thin muscle almost 
entirely covering the body, and is sometimes accidentally 
removed by a careless person in skinning the animal. The 
action of this muscle is to shake the skin when flies or some- 
thing bother the horse. This muscle is not shown in plate II., 
it having been removed in order to show the more important 
ones. At the head there is a group of muscles which assist 
in chewing, or masticating, the food. Around the throat is 
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