66 
ANATOMY OF THE HORSE. 
According to this arrangement, every distinct part, the head, 
neck, shoulder, quarter, arm, thigh, &c. is divided, by imagi¬ 
nary lines, into five regions:—superior, inferior, anterior, poste¬ 
rior, and middle ; each of which is subdivisible into three minor 
compartments: e. g. the superior region is distinguishable, if 
required, into antero-superior, mesio-superior, and postero- 
superior; the anterior into supero-anterior, mesio-anterior, and 
infero-anterior; and so with the others. Without such know¬ 
ledge, the anatomical detail, to follow, might prove perplexing 
or even unintelligible: by its possession, the work of the ana¬ 
tomist is abridged and facilitated ; the task of the student ren¬ 
dered less wearisome and more profitable. 
OF THE TRUNK. 
The trunk comprehends the vertebral chain, the thorax, and 
the pelvis. 
L—THE VERTEBRAL CHAIN. 
Also called the spine, vulgarly the back-bone, reaches from 
the occiput to the sacrum, constituting the bony structure of 
the neck, back, and loins, and consists of 30 separate pieces, 
denominated vertebra, which are classed, in accordance with the 
part they enter into the formation of, into cervical, dorsal, and 
lumbar. 
Configuration, It bears altogether a resemblance to an S, 
providing the letter be reversed, turned in the horizontal direc¬ 
tion, and an additional curve given to it; thus, Pro¬ 
ceeding from the vertex with more or less crest-like curve, it 
sinks into a bend in the opposite direction at the posterior part 
of the neck; from this, in the back, it at first gradually rises, 
but shortly afterwards pursues the horizontal line, or even dips 
a little : in the loins, however, it rises very perceptibly, forming 
an arch of considerable extent, which, posteriorly, is completed 
by the declivity of the coccyx. 
OF THE VERTEBRA IN GENERAL. 
‘ Conformation, The vertebrae bear a common resemblance, one 
to another, manifested by the following general characters. 
Every vertebra is in form symmetrical, and presents middle and 
lateral divisions. Is^. The middle consists of the body, a cylin¬ 
drical solid part, having a convex surface anteriorly, a concave 
one posteriorly, and both roughened by the implantation of the 
intervertebral substances ; the arch, extended transversely from 
