Bones of the Thoracic Limb

The scapula is very wide, the index being about 1 ∶ 0.7. The spine is triangular and is very wide in its middle, which curves backward over the infraspinous fossa and bears a large tuberosity. Its lower part bears a small projection (rudimentary acromion). The anterior border is strongly convex in profile, sinuous when viewed from the front, and thick and rough in its middle. The posterior border is wide, slightly concave, and bears an outer rough lip. The vertebral border is convex, and the cartilage is not so extensive as in the horse and ox. The cervical angle is thin and bent inward a little. The dorsal angle is thick and is about a right angle. The neck is well defined. The rim of the glenoid cavity is rounded and not notched. The tuberosity is just above the antero-internal part of the glenoid cavity and bears no distinct coracoid process.

The humerus has an appearance in profile somewhat like an italic f minus the cross-bar; this is due to the marked backward and forward inclination of the proximal and distal ends respectively. The shaft is decidedly compressed from side to side. The internal surface is extensive and flattened; it is separated from the anterior surface by a distinct border, and bears no teres tubercle. The musculo-spiral groove is shallow. The deltoid tuberosity is small, and there is a larger rounded eminence midway between it and the external tuberosity. The nutrient foramen is on the posterior surface below its middle. The head is more strongly curved and the neck better marked than in the horse or ox. The external tuberosity is very large and extends upon the front of the extremity. It is divided into two high prominences by a wide deep groove. There is a third eminence below and externally for the attachment of the supraspinatus muscle. The bicipital groove is at the front of the inner side; it is undivided and is almost converted into a canal. The outer groove on the distal articular surface is so shallow as to give the appearance of two condyles of similar size. The olecranon fossa is very deep, and the plate of bone which separates it from the coronoid fossa is thin and sometimes perforated. The proximal end unites with the shaft at three and a half years, the distal at one year.

The radius is short and narrow, but thick. The shaft increases in size from above downward. The greater part of the posterior surface is in apposition with the ulna; this part is marked by a vascular furrow which runs downward from the upper interosseous space, and has the nutrient foramen at its proximal end. The bicipital tuberosity is represented by a rough area. The distal end is relatively large. Its carpal surface consists of concavo-convex facets for the radial and intermediate carpal bones. There is a wide shallow groove on the middle of the front. The proximal end fuses with the shaft at one year, the distal at three and a half years.

The ulna is massive. It is much longer and considerably heavier than the radius. The shaft is curved. The anterior surface is convex and most of it is rough and attached to the radius by the interosseous ligament. There is a smooth area on the upper third, which concurs with the radius in forming the upper interosseous space, and is marked in its upper part by the nutrient foramen. From this space a vascular furrow passes downward to the lower part of the shaft, where there is often a distal interosseous space for the passage of vessels. The internal surface is extensive, concave, and smooth. The external surface is slightly convex, and its upper part is marked by an oblique rough line or ridge. The proximal extremity is large and is bent inward somewhat; its length is more than one-third of that of the entire bone. The distal extremity is relatively small; it articulates with the ulnar and accessory carpal bones, and is notched in front to accommodate the ridge on the radius. The bone contains a considerable medullary canal. The bone is consolidated at three to three and a half years.

The carpus comprises eight bones, four in each row. The bones of the proximal row resemble those of the ox, with the exception of the accessory, which is more like that of the horse, but has no external groove. The first carpal is small, elongated from before backward, rounded, and articulates in front with the second carpal. The latter is high and narrow, and articulates with the second and third metacarpal bones below. The third carpal articulates with the radial and intermediate above, the third metacarpal bone below. The fourth is the largest bone of the row; it articulates with the intermediate and ulnar above, the fourth and fifth metacarpals below, and bears a tuberosity on its volar aspect.

Four metacarpal bones are present. The first is absent, the third and fourth are large and carry the chief digits, while the second and fifth are much smaller and bear the accessory digits. Their proximal ends articulate with each other and with the carpus as indicated above. The bones are consolidated at about two years of age.

The third and fourth metacarpals are flattened from before backward, three-sided, and placed close together. The distal end of each bears a trochlea for articulation with the first phalanx and the sesamoids. The third is the wider of the two, and articulates with all of the lower row of the carpus except the first. The fourth articulates with the fourth carpal chiefly, but has a small facet for the third. The second and fifth metacarpals are placed further back than the chief bones. The fifth is considerably the thicker of the two. The proximal ends are small and articulate with the corresponding carpal and metacarpal bones. The distal end is relatively large; its articular surface is condyloid in front, trochlear behind.

Each chief digit comprises three phalanges and three sesamoids. The bones of the chief digits resemble those of the ox in form, but there is no foramen on the interdigital side of the extensor process and the proximal sesamoids are narrow and ridged behind. The phalanges of the accessory digits (which do not reach the ground ordinarily) are similar in form but much smaller.