Without attempting to take you very far into the region of osteological
detail, I must nevertheless trouble you with some statements respecting
the anatomical structure of the horse; and, more especially, will it be
needful to obtain a general conception of the structure of its fore and
hind limbs, and of its teeth. But I shall only touch upon those points
which are absolutely essential to our inquiry.
Let us turn in the first place to the fore-limb. In most quadrupeds, as
in ourselves, the fore-arm contains distinct bones called the radius and
the ulna. The corresponding region in the Horse seem at first to possess
but one bone. Careful observation, however, enables us to distinguish in
this bone a part which clearly answers to the upper end of the ulna.
This is closely united with the chief mass of the bone which represents
the radius, and runs out into a slender shaft which may be traced for
some distance downwards upon the back of the radius, and then in most
cases thins out and vanishes. It takes still more trouble to make sure
of what is nevertheless the fact, that a small part of the lower end of
the bone of the horse's fore-arm, which is only distinct in a very young
foal, is really the lower extremity of the ulna.
Pages:
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80