310 
THE ANATOMY OF THE 
The anterior plantar nerve , just below the fetlock, gives off 
a branch whose divisions proceed to the antero-medial parts of 
both coronets. The nerve then takes a more deep-seated course, 
and midway between the fetlock and hoof divides into two parts, 
whose ramifications are distributed to the fatty substance be- 
tween the pastern bones, extending as far as the heels and to 
the middle portions of each coronet. 
The Foot. — The coffin bone is covered on its superior part, 
both externally and internally, by the continuation of the thick- 
ened cutis, called, in animals of the solidungular order of Blu- 
menbach, the coronary ligament . It is convex, in order to fit 
the concavity of the coronary ring , but it is much more exten- 
sive than in the horse, covering a greater portion of the os pedis. 
This coronary ligament ends posteriorly in the sensible sole , and 
from it inferiorly proceed the sensible lamina , which cover the 
lower part of the sides of the bone and part of the cartilago- 
ligamentous heels. The laminae, in proportion to the increased 
extent of the coronary ligament, are diminished in length, and 
join at the inferior edge of the coffin bone the sensible sole, 
which, after covering the inferior surface of the coffin bone, is 
continued over the greater part of the cartilago-ligamentous heel, 
and joins the coronary ligament. The horny sole (of course 
double) is very thick, and resembles in shape a bisection of the 
same part in the horse. It increases in thickness as it approaches 
the heels, where it is more prominent than the crust. The horny 
crust corresponds in shape to the os pedis, its outer surface 
being convex, and its inner rather concave. Its substance is 
harder but much thinner than the sole, except at the posterior 
part, where it is more elastic and nearly as thick. The horny 
lamina are shorter than in the equine genus, so that the part 
called in the horse the coronary ring is considerably more de- 
veloped in the ox. 
On a superficial view of the horny sole , we are struck with the 
dissimilarity which exists between it and its synonym in the horse, 
and, on a deeper examination of its structure, we find that in its 
physiology it must also equally differ. It serves, of course, as a 
protection to the sensible parts above, but, from its great thick- 
ness, it is doubtful whether it admits of any descent, yet its convex 
posterior surface, touching the ground at every step, supports a 
large proportion of the animal’s weight. The ox, not being in- 
tended for quick movements, neither requires nor possesses the 
same degree of elasticity as the horse ; yet from the springy nature 
of the posterior part of the crust, and from the yielding quality of 
the cartilago-ligamentous heels above it, together with that arising 
