The bones which form the skeleton of the pelvis of quadrupeds are proportionally more elongated and less ma.s.sive than those of the human pelvis (Figs. 43 and 44).
We find, on the external surface of the iliac bone, the cotyloid cavity, whose border is interrupted by the cotyloid notch; a deep notch which looks downwards.
In front of this cavity is the ilium. This portion, narrow in the part which is next the cavity, is directed forwards and upwards, expanding more and more as it pa.s.ses upwards. It presents an external or superior surface (external in some animals, superior in others), which recalls the external iliac fossa; and an internal or inferior surface, at the superior part of which is found the auricular surface for articulation with the sacrum.
The anterior border of the ilium is rough; this is the iliac crest, at the extremities of which we find, below or outside, a prominence which corresponds to the anterior superior iliac spine of man; and internally another projection which corresponds to the posterior iliac spine.
Immediately above the cotyloid cavity is a rough crest, which is known as the _supracotyloid crest_, which is, however, no other than the h.o.m.ologue of the sciatic spine. In front of this prominence, the border of the ilium, which is notched, forms the great sciatic notch.
If, still taking the cotyloid cavity as the point of departure, we proceed inwards--that is, towards the median line of the body--we find the pubis; if in a posterior direction, the ischium. These two portions, pubis and ischium, limit an oval orifice, the subpubic foramen.
In the human skeleton, the pubis of one side is united to that of the opposite side, to form the pubic symphysis. In the animals which we are now studying a portion of the ischium enters into the formation of the symphysis; in other words, it is formed, not only by the body of the pubis, but also by the descending branch or ramus of the pubis and a portion of the ascending branch or ramus of the ischium, which are fused with those of the opposite side. It results that, though in the human being the symphysis is short and the ischio-pubic arch large, in quadrupeds it is the opposite. In them the arch is a mere slot, and being formed by the ischium alone, merits the name of the ischial arch.
The ischio-pubic symphysis is very large, and forms a horizontal surface relatively extensive, a sort of floor, on which rest certain organs which occupy the cavity of the pelvis.
The posterior and external angle of the ischium is rough and prominent; it is the tuberosity of the ischium. This forms a projection under the skin; it also does in man when the trunk is strongly inclined forwards, while the thighs are maintained in the vertical position. In marsupials--opossum, kangaroo, and phalanger--the pelvis at its pubic region is surmounted by two bones, situated one on each side of the median line, and arranged in the form of a fork of two p.r.o.ngs (Fig. 45).
These, which are called _marsupial bones_, support the pouch which, in animals of this genus, lodges their young, which, at the time of birth, are incapable of supporting a separate existence, their development being absolutely incomplete.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 45.--PUBIC REGION OF THE PELVIS OF A MARSUPIAL (PHALANGER, FOX).
1, Symphysis pubis; 2, obturator foramen; 3, marsupial bones.]
In the cetaceans--for example, the dolphin--because of the absence of posterior limbs, the pelvis is represented by two separate bones only, which have no connection with the vertebral column. In birds, the pelvis is remarkable for its elongated form (see for its form Fig. 21, and for details Fig. 46). The cotyloid cavity is pierced by an opening, and presents on its posterior border, which is here a little prominent, a surface with which the great trochanter is in contact.
The ilium is very highly developed, and is fused in the median line with the ilium of the opposite side, the last dorsal vertebrae, the lumbar vertebrae, and the sacrum. Because of these relations with the dorsal vertebrae, it is in contact anteriorly with the last ribs, which consequently emerge from each side of the iliac region of the pelvis.
The ischium forms a plate of bone which, in part, closes the external portion of the cavity of the pelvis. Its superior border is separate for a certain distance from the external border of the ilium; there is thus left an opening of more or less considerable size, which represents or takes the place of the great sciatic notch.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 46.--PELVIS OF A BIRD (THE c.o.c.k): EXTERNAL SURFACE, LEFT SIDE.
1, Ilium; 2, ischium; 3, pubis; 4, inferior extremity of the pubis; 5, sciatic foramen; 6, oval foramen, h.o.m.ologous to the obturator; 7, coccygeal vertebrae.]
The pubis, long and slender, is in connection with the inferior border of the ischium, of which it follows the general direction; and circ.u.mscribes with this latter, below the cotyloid cavity, an oval orifice, which is the h.o.m.ologue of the obturator foramen. Its inferior extremity reaches beyond the corresponding part of the ischium, bending towards the middle line, but without joining the pubis of the opposite side. On this account there is no symphysis pubis in birds.
Nevertheless, an exception must be noted in the case of the ostrich, the pubic bones of which meet in the middle line, and are articulated in form of a symphysis.
The Thigh
A single bone, the femur, forms the skeleton of this portion of the lower limb.
=The Femur.=--The bone of the thigh is, in man, directed downwards and inwards; this obliquity, we may remind the reader, is due to the difference in length of the two condyles which form its inferior extremity; the internal is the more prominent, the result of which is that when the femur is held vertically, the internal condyle descends lower than the external. Now, as those two articular expansions rest on the horizontal plane formed by the upper extremity of the tibia, it follows that the superior part of the femur inclines towards the side of the shorter condyle--that is to say, outwards--and that, the leg being vertical, it and the bone of the thigh unite in forming an angle, of which the apex is directed towards the inner side of the knee.
In many mammals the two condyles are equally prominent, the result of which is that the femur inclines neither inwards nor outwards, but is contained in a plane parallel to the axis of the trunk; while the leg is included in the same plane. Nevertheless, although contained in the plane which we have just indicated, the femur is obliquely placed, and directed downwards and forwards; it accordingly forms, with the pelvis, an angle, of which the opening is directed to the anterior aspect of the body.
In reptiles and in birds the femur and leg are both placed in the same plane, but this plane is not parallel to the axis of the trunk. This is the result, on the one hand, of the thorax being wide, and, on the other hand, of the femur, which is directed forwards, being in contact by its anterior extremity with the lateral aspect of the costal region, it is thus necessarily placed in a direction forwards and outwards, and the knee is further removed from the axis of the trunk than is the articulation which unites the thigh with the pelvis.
The femur, like the humerus, is almost completely enveloped by muscular ma.s.ses, which bind it to the lateral walls of the abdomen. Its inferior extremity alone is free, and is always the more so in proportion to its elongation--that is to say, as it belongs to an animal whose foot is more divided. The femur in this respect conforms to the law which we have indicated in connection with the bone of the arm, in which the development, as to length, is in proportion to the division of the hand.
If we compare the femur of certain animals with that of man, we see that the corresponding details of form are readily recognisable, but they are slightly modified. Thus, on examining the superior extremity, we find there a head, a neck, a great trochanter, and a lesser; but the neck is usually short and thick, and the great trochanter does not occupy the same level with regard to the articular head of the bone. In man, the great trochanter does not rise to the level of the head of the femur; in the dog and the cat it approaches that level; in the horse and in ruminants it rises above it.
With regard to the inferior extremity, its surfaces undergo modifications which are further accentuated as we pa.s.s from the digitigrades to the ungulates, or unguligrades. We know that in man the femoral trochlea is continuous behind, without interruption, with the condyles--that is to say, that each of the condyles is the continuation of one of the lips of the trochlea. We have just said that the trochlea is continuous without interruption with the condyles; this is accurate.
Nevertheless, we must remark that, at the level of the junction of these surfaces, the bone presents a slight constriction, which is more marked on the external than on the internal aspect. This constriction, which is but slightly marked in man, is accentuated in the dog and the cat; in the ruminants and the solipeds it is still more p.r.o.nounced so that we may say that in these latter the trochlea and the condyles are almost completely separated.
There is another modification in regard to the prominence and extent of the two lips of the trochlea. In man, the external lip of the trochlea reaches higher than the internal, and it is more prominent in front. In the dog, these lips are equal with regard to thickness, but the external still reaches higher than the internal; in the cat, they are equal in every respect; in ruminants and solipeds the internal lip is wider, thicker, and rises higher than the external.
In animals the trochlea is, as a general rule, narrower than in man, and the condyles are more prominent posteriorly; so that, when viewed from one of the lateral aspects, the inferior extremity of the femur is, in them, better developed in the antero-posterior direction.
In birds, the femur is shorter than the bones of the leg; its great trochanter is in contact with a prominence which occupies the posterior part of the border of the cotyloid cavity. Instead of articulating at the level of the knee, with the knee-cap and tibia only, as in man, it articulates, in addition, with the superior extremity of the fibula. A similar arrangement is found in marsupials and reptiles.
=The Knee-cap.=--This bone, developed in the thickness of the tendon of the triceps muscle of the thigh, is in contact, by its posterior surface, with the femoral trochlea. The two articular surfaces which are applied to the lips of the trochlea present, with regard to their extent, an inequality which is in proportion to the arrangement which we have above indicated--that is, while in man it is the external surface which is the larger, in the horse it is the internal. We shall see what the general form of the knee-cap is when we come, later on, to study more particularly the posterior limbs of some animals.
The Leg
The skeleton of the leg consists of two bones: the tibia and the fibula.
The tibia is the more internal and the larger of the two; the fibula is slender, and situated on the outer side, and a little posterior to, the preceding. The fibula is more or less developed according to the species; in some it is complete, in others it is very much atrophied.
This peculiarity may be compared with that which we have drawn attention to regarding the development of the ulna; but here the seriation is less distinct. Not only in the different species, but even in the individuals of the same species, the development of the fibula presents little regularity. In quadrupeds, the bones of the leg are directed obliquely downwards and backwards, so that they form, with the femur, which is directed obliquely downwards and forwards, an angle, the apex of which is placed at the anterior surface of the knee.
=Tibia.=--The tibia of quadrupeds is readily comparable with that of man; as in the case of the latter, its shaft has three surfaces--an external, which is hollowed out in its upper portion, and becomes anterior below; an internal, slightly convex and subcutaneous; the posterior, which presents, in its superior part, a crest, the oblique line of the tibia, and some rugosities. The borders separate the surfaces. The anterior border, or crest of the tibia, is prominent in its superior part; below it gradually disappears in pa.s.sing towards the internal aspect of the inferior extremity. The external and internal borders separate the corresponding surfaces from the posterior one.
The superior extremity is thick, and expands in forming three tuberosities: two lateral and an anterior. The anterior tuberosity, situated at the superior part of the crest of the tibia, is very prominent; for this reason the superior extremity is very much expanded in the antero-posterior direction--hence it results that this diameter is equal to the transverse, and sometimes even greater. In man, it is the latter which is the larger. The anterior tuberosity is visible under the skin.
The inferior extremity, less thick, is prolonged internally by a prominence which corresponds to the internal malleolus of man. In animals whose fibula is but slightly developed the tibia presents, on the external part of its inferior extremity, a small prominence, which replaces the fibular malleolus. The ruminants must, however, be excepted, in which we find in this region a special bone, which certain authors look on as the inferior part of the fibula (see p. 97). The inferior surface of this extremity of the tibia is articular; and is in contact with one of the tarsal bones, the astragalus. Because the superior surface of this latter has the form of a pulley, a pulley much more marked than that on the human astragalus, the corresponding surface of the tibia, which has the opposite form, presents two lateral cavities, separated by a median ridge, which is directed forwards and slightly outwards; this ridge projects into the groove of the pulley.
=The Fibula.=--This bone, situated at the back of the external surface of the tibia, is, as we have said, more or less developed. Its superior extremity, or head, articulates with the external tuberosity of the tibia. Its inferior extremity, when it exists--it is this which disappears in animals which have the fibula incompletely developed--forms a prominence which, placed on the external surface of the inferior extremity of the tibia, articulates with the astragalus, and recalls the external malleolus of man.
We have stated above that it is the inferior extremity of the fibula which disappears when the bone is incompletely developed; it is necessary to except the bat, in which the fibula, fairly well developed at its inferior extremity, by which it articulates with the tibia, thins off in its superior portion, and does not reach the corresponding extremity of the latter. Further, as in this animal the surface of the knee, which corresponds to the anterior surface of the same region in other animals, is turned backwards, the result is that the fibula is situated on the inner side of the tibia, instead of being placed on the outer.
The Foot
The foot, in animals, as well as in man, is formed of three portions, which, as we pa.s.s from the part which articulates with the leg towards the terminal extremity, are: the tarsus, the metatarsus, and the toes.
These three portions are the h.o.m.ologues of the carpus, the metacarpus, and the fingers, which, as we have already seen in the case of the hand, are the osseous groups which form its skeleton. The tarsus is formed of short bones, as the carpus is; these are, in man, seven in number. The bones are arranged in two rows: one, the posterior, formed of two bones superimposed--the astragalus, by which the tarsus articulates with the leg, and the calcaneum, which forms the prominence of the heel; and an anterior row formed of five juxtaposed ones--the cuboid, situated externally, and the scaphoid internally, in front of which are found the three cuneiforms. To the tarsus succeeds the metatarsus, whose form reminds us very much of that of the metacarpals.
With regard to the toes, which we enumerate in proceeding from the most internal to the most external, they are formed of phalanges, which are three in number for the four outer toes; but the number is reduced to two in the case of the first--that is, the so-called great-toe.
The bones of the tarsus are not seven in all animals; they are fewer in ruminants and solipeds. We already know that, in the latter, the metacarpals and the digits are equally reduced in number; the same is the case for the metatarsals and the toes. We will a.n.a.lyze these differences when dealing with the species individually.
When we studied the anterior limbs, we saw in pa.s.sing from the plantigrades to the digitigrades, and finally the ungulates, or unguligrades, as the hand became hyperextended, the carpus was raised and more and more removed from the ground. We shall establish the existence of the same condition in the posterior limbs; in the plantigrades the tarsus rests on the ground; in the digitigrades it is removed from it; while in the unguligrades the distance which separates it from the point of support is still more considerable; and it is, indeed, necessary to imagine that if these latter were plantigrades, would occupy the position on the ground which is indicated by Fig. 47.
In veterinary anatomy the tarsus is called the _ham_; a name we adopt in conformity with usage, but which we cannot but regret, as in human anatomy the ham is the region of the posterior surface of the knee.
The general arrangement of the region of the digits of the posterior limbs in birds, presents some points of interest.
We shall merely say with regard to the metatarsus, that it is formed by a single bone, which in the c.o.c.k is furnished towards its inferior third with a pointed process, the _spur_. At the inferior part, there is, however, found another, which is but very slightly developed, and with which the first phalanx of the innermost toe articulates.
The toes are, in the majority of species, four in number:[15] an internal, which is directed backwards, and corresponds to the great-toe; the others are directed forwards. This arrangement is constant in grallatores (wading birds), gallinaceae[16] (domestic fowls), and raptores (birds of prey).