Striking features on the basal surface of the cranium are the width and flatness of the basioccipital, the small size of the paramastoid processes, the large size and rounded shape of the bulla ossea, and the grooved form of the articular surfaces for the mandible. The posterior nares are long and narrow and are not divided by the vomer. The hard palate is usually about half the length of the skull. It is commonly marked by a median crest or rough line, and on each side are the anterior and accessory palatine foramina and the palatine grooves. The width is greatest between the fourth pair of cheek teeth, and here there is in most skulls a pronounced depression on either side. The length, width, and contour vary greatly in different breeds.

The angle of divergence of the rami of the mandible varies from 25 to 30 degrees; it is smallest in the greyhound, largest in extreme brachycephalic types, e. g., bulldog, pug.

The posterior or nuchal surface is somewhat triangular, with the base below. The summit is formed by the occipital crest, which projects very strongly backward in the large breeds. Below it there are two very distinct rough imprints for muscular attachment. In some skulls there is a thin median crest, in others a rounded elevation. Laterally are the temporal crests and the mastoid processes. There is usually a foramen in the temporo-occipital suture above the root of the paramastoid process. The foramen magnum varies greatly in form; most often the transverse diameter is the greater, but in some skulls it is equaled or exceeded by the vertical diameter.

The cranial cavity (Fig. 124) corresponds in form and size with the cranium, specially in those breeds in which the various crests are more or less effaced and the frontal sinuses are small. The basi-cranial axis is almost parallel with the palate, and the floor is flattened. The anterior fossa is narrow and is only slightly higher than the middle one. The olfactory fossæ are very deep and the crista galli is little developed. The sella turcica is variable in depth, and the dorsum sellæ is relatively high and bears clinoid processes laterally. The cerebral and cerebellar compartments are well marked off laterally by the petrosal crests and above by the tentorium osseum. The base of the latter is traversed by a canal which connects the two parieto-temporal canals. The anterior angle of the petrous temporal is perforated by a canal for the fifth cranial nerve.

The nasal cavity (Fig. 373) conforms to the shape of the face. Its anterior aperture is large and nearly circular in most dogs. The complex inferior turbinals occupy the anterior part of the cavity to a large extent, except near the aperture. Behind the inferior turbinals is the large opening of the maxillary sinus. Behind this the cavity is divided by a horizontal plate (Lamina transversalis) into a large upper olfactory region or fundus nasi and a lower naso-pharyngeal canal. The fundus is occupied largely by the ethmoturbinals. The posterior nares are undivided and are in general long and narrow, but vary with the shape of the skull.

The frontal sinus is of considerable size in the large breeds, but is confined to the frontal bone. It is usually divided into a small anterior and a much larger posterior compartment, each of which opens into the superior ethmoidal meatus. The sinus is very small in extreme brachycephalic types.

The maxillary sinus is small, and is in such free communication with the nasal cavity as to make it rather a recess than a true sinus. It is bounded internally by the lamina papyracea of the ethmoid, and its outer wall is crossed obliquely by the lacrimal canal. The roots of the molar teeth do not project up into it.

The clavicle is a small, thin, irregularly-triangular bony or cartilaginous plate. It is embedded in the mastoido-humeralis muscle in front of the shoulder joint and forms no articulation with the rest of the skeleton. (It is nearly an inch long in a large cat and is a slender curved rod.)

The scapula is relatively long and narrow. The spine increases gradually in height from above downward and divides the external surface into two nearly equal fossæ. Its free edge is thick and rough above, and at the lower part is thin and bent backward. The acromion is short and blunt and is opposite the rim of the glenoid cavity. The subscapular fossa is very shallow and is marked by rough lines. The rough area above it for the attachment of the serratus magnus is large and quadrilateral in front, narrow and marginal behind. The anterior border is thin, strongly convex, and sinuous. The posterior border is straight and thick. The vertebral border is convex and thick and bears a band of cartilage. The cervical angle is rounded. The dorsal angle is thick and square. The neck is well defined and bears a rough eminence posteriorly. The glenoid cavity is continued forward upon the lower face of the scapular tuberosity, which is blunt and bears no distinct coracoid process. There is a rough eminence on the posterior surface of the neck, from which the long head of the triceps arises. The cervical angle is opposite the first thoracic spine, the dorsal angle lies above the vertebral end of the fourth rib, and the articular angle at a point just in front of the sternal end of the first rib in the ordinary standing position. The shoulder has a great range of movement on the chest-wall.

The humerus is relatively very long, rather slender, and has a slight spiral twist. The shaft is somewhat compressed laterally, especially in its upper two-thirds; this part is curved in varying degree, convex in front. The deltoid tuberosity has the form of a low ridge, and it is continued by a crest which runs upward and backward and bears a tubercle on its upper part. Another line runs from it down the anterior aspect and forms the inner boundary of the very shallow musculo-spiral groove. The nutrient foramen is about in the middle of the posterior surface. A slight elevation on the proximal third of the inner surface represents the teres tubercle. The head is long and strongly curved from before backward. The neck is better marked than in the horse. The undivided external tuberosity is placed well forward and extends little above the level of the head. The internal tuberosity is small. The bicipital groove is undivided and is displaced to the inner side by the extension forward of the external tuberosity. The distal end bears an oblique trochlear articular surface for articulation with the radius and ulna, the outer part of which is the more extensive and is faintly grooved. The epicondyles are prominent. The coronoid and olecranon fossæ often communicate through a large supratrochlear foramen.

The two bones of the forearm are relatively long and articulate with each other at either end in such a manner as to allow of slight movement. A narrow interosseous space separates their shafts. The radius is flattened from before backward and increases in size from above downward. The shaft forms two curves; one of these, an anterior convexity, involves the whole shaft; the other, an inner convexity, affects the upper part. The anterior surface is convex in both directions and is marked by a groove for the oblique extensor of the carpus. The posterior surface presents the nutrient foramen in its upper third, and bears a rough line (Crista interossea) externally for the attachment of the interosseous ligament. The proximal end (Capitulum radii) is relatively small and is supported by a distinct neck (Collum radii). It bears a concave surface (Fovea capituli) above for articulation with the humerus, and a convex marginal area (Circumferentia articularis) behind for the ulna. The bicipital tuberosity is small. There is a large external tuberosity and below this a rough eminence. The distal extremity is much wider. It has an extensive concave carpal articular surface. Its inner border projects downward, forming the styloid process of the radius. Externally there is a concave facet (Incisura ulnaris radii) for the ulna. In front are three distinct grooves for the extensor tendons. The ulna is well developed, but diminishes in size from above downward. It crosses the posterior surface of the radius from within outward. The shaft is large and three-sided in its upper two-thirds, smaller and more rounded below. Its anterior surface is in general rough. The nutrient foramen is near the proximal end. A vascular groove descends from it and indicates the course of the interosseous artery. The proximal end is relatively short. It is concave and smooth internally, convex and rough externally. The olecranon is grooved and bears three prominences, of which the posterior one is large and rounded. The semilunar notch is wide below and completes the surface for articulation with the trochlea of the humerus. Below it is a concave surface (Incisura radialis) which articulates with the back of the head of the radius, and below this is a fossa, which receives a tuberosity of the radius. The distal end (Capitulum ulnæ) is small and is produced to a blunt point (Processus styloideus ulnæ). It articulates with the ulnar carpal below, and has a convex facet on its antero-internal aspect for the radius.

The carpus comprises seven bones, three in the proximal row and four in the distal. The numerical reduction in the upper row is apparently due to the fusion of the radial and intermediate, constituting a large bone which articulates with almost all of the distal surface of the radius and with the bones of the lower row. It projects prominently on the posterior surface of the carpus. The ulnar carpal is long; it articulates with the radius and ulna above and the accessory behind; below it rests on the fourth carpal and is prolonged downward to articulate with the fifth metacarpal also. The accessory is cylindrical, constricted in its middle and enlarged at each end; the anterior extremity articulates with the ulna and ulnar carpal bone. The first carpal is the smallest bone of the lower row; it articulates with the second carpal externally and the first metacarpal distally. The second carpal is wedge-shaped, the base being posterior; its upper surface is convex, and its lower is concave and rests on the second metacarpal. The third carpal is somewhat like the second; its lower surface is concave and articulates chiefly with the third metacarpal. The fourth carpal is the largest of the row; it articulates with the fourth and fifth metacarpals below. Two small bones or cartilages may be found at the junction of the two rows behind, and a third small bone articulates with the inner side of the radiointermediate.^[27]

Five metacarpal bones are present. The first is much the shortest; the third and fourth are the longest, and are about one-fifth longer than the second and fifth. The fifth is the widest at the proximal end and is slightly shorter than the second. They are close together above, but diverge somewhat below; the first is separated from the second by a considerable interosseous space. They are so arranged as to form a convex dorsal surface, and a concave volar surface, which corresponds to the hollow of the palm of the hand in man. Each consists of a shaft and two extremities. The shaft is compressed from before backward. In the third and fourth it is almost four-sided, in the second and fifth three-sided, in the first rounded. The proximal ends (Bases) articulate with each other and with the corresponding carpal bones. The carpal articular surface formed by them is concave from side to side, convex from before backward. The distal ends (Capitula) have articular surfaces of the nature of a head, but bear a sagittal ridge behind, except the first, which is grooved.

The five digits have three phalanges each, except the first, which has two. The third and fourth digits are the longest; the first is very short and does not come in contact with the ground in walking. The first phalanges of the chief digits have four-sided shafts, which are slightly curved forward. The proximal end of each has a concave surface for articulation with the metacarpal bone and is deeply notched behind. The distal end has a trochlea for articulation with the second phalanx, and lateral depressions for ligamentous attachment. The second phalanges are about two-thirds of the length of the first phalanges. The proximal articular surface consists of two cavities separated by a sagittal ridge. The distal extremity is wider and flatter than that of the first. The third phalanges correspond in general to the form of the claws. The base has an articular surface adapted to the second phalanx and is encircled by a collar of bone. The volar surface bears a wing or tuberosity, and on either side of this is a foramen. The ungual part is a curved rod with a blunt-pointed free end. It is rough and porous. Its base forms with the collar previously mentioned a deep groove, into which the proximal border of the claw is received. The two phalanges of the first digit resemble in arrangement the first and third phalanges of the other digits.

Nine volar sesamoids are usually present. Two are found at each metacarpo-phalangeal joint of the chief digits. They are high and narrow, articulate with the distal end of the metacarpal bone in front, and have a small facet on the base for the first phalanx. On this joint of the first digit there is usually a single flattened sesamoid, but exceptionally two are present. The distal volar sesamoids remain cartilaginous. A nodular dorsal sesamoid occurs in the anterior part of the capsule of the metacarpo-phalangeal joints, and cartilaginous nodules are found in a similar position in connection with the joints between the first and second phalanges.

BONES OF THE PELVIC LIMB

The ilium is nearly parallel with the median plane and its axis is only slightly oblique with regard to the horizontal plane. The gluteal surface is concave. The iliac surface is almost flat. The auricular surface faces almost directly inward, and in front of it there is an extensive rough area. The ilio-pectineal line is very distinct and is uninterrupted. The anterior border or crest is strongly convex, thick, and rough. The internal angle is represented by a thickened part which bears two eminences, homologous with the posterior superior and posterior inferior iliac spines of man. The external angle also has two prominences, which are equivalent to the two anterior spines present in man. The shaft is almost sagittal and is compressed laterally. Above it is smooth and rounded, and below it bears a crest externally which terminates at a tuberosity in front of the acetabulum.

The ischium has a twisted appearance owing to the fact that its acetabular part is nearly sagittal while the posterior part is almost horizontal. The two bones also diverge behind and the tubera are flattened and everted. The superior ischiatic spine is low and thick; its posterior part is marked by transverse grooves and has a prominent outer lip. There is no lesser sciatic notch. The ischial arch is relatively small and is semi-elliptical.

The symphyseal part of the pubis is thick and fuses late with the opposite bone. There is no subpubic groove.

The acetabulum is about twice as far from the external angle of the ilium as from the tuber ischii. The fossa acetabuli is deep, and is bounded internally by a flat plate of bone; its floor is so thin as to be translucent. There is a small notch behind.

The obturator foramen resembles in outline an equilateral triangle with the angles rounded off.

The inlet of the pelvis is very oblique. It is almost circular in the female, but in the male it is elliptical and the conjugate diameter is the longer. The cavity is narrowest between the acetabula, and very wide behind. The floor is concave and relatively narrow in front, wide and flat behind.

The femur is relatively much longer than in the horse or ox. The shaft is regularly cylindrical, except near the extremities, where it is wider and compressed from before backward. It is strongly curved in its lower two-thirds, convex in front. The posterior surface is flattened transversely, narrow in the middle, and widens toward each end. It is bounded by two rough lines (Labium laterale, mediale) which diverge toward the extremities. The third trochanter and the plantar (supracondyloid) fossa are absent. There are two supracondyloid crests, the inner one being small. The nutrient foramen is in the upper third of the posterior surface. The head is a little more than a hemisphere and has a shallow depression behind and external to its center. The neck is well defined. The trochanter major does not extend as high as the head; a thick ridge runs from its anterior surface to the neck. The internal trochanter has the form of a blunt tuberosity. The trochanteric fossa is round and deep. The ridges of the trochlea are practically sagittal in direction and are almost similar. The intercondyloid fossa is wide. Just above each condyle posteriorly there is a facet for articulation with the sesamoid (of Vesal), which is developed in the origin of the gastrocnemius muscle.

The tibia is about the same length as the femur. The shaft forms a double curve; the upper part is convex internally, the lower part externally. The proximal third is prismatic, but is compressed laterally and is long from before backward. The remainder is almost regularly cylindrical. The crest is short but very prominent. The nutrient foramen is usually in the upper third of the external border. The tuberosity is not grooved, but bears a distinct mark where the ligamentum patellæ is attached. There is a small facet for the fibula on the postero-external part of the external condyle, and a small sesamoid bone in the tendon of origin of the popliteus is in contact with the posterior angle of the latter. The distal end is quadrangular and relatively small. The articular grooves and ridge are almost sagittal. There is a facet externally for articulation with the fibula. There is a vertical groove internally and a shallower one behind—both for tendons.

The fibula extends the entire length of the region. It is slender, somewhat twisted, and enlarged at either end. The upper part of the shaft is separated from the tibia by a considerable interosseous space, but the lower part is flattened and closely applied to the tibia. The proximal end is flattened and articulates with the external condyle of the tibia. The distal end is somewhat thicker and forms the external malleolus. It articulates internally with the tibia and the tibial tarsal bone. Externally it bears two tubercles.

The patella is long and narrow. The anterior surface is convex in both directions. The articular surface is convex from side to side and slightly concave from above downward.

The tarsus comprises seven bones. The tibial tarsal consists of a body, neck, and head, like the bone in man. The body presents a trochlea above for articulation with the tibia and fibula. The posterior surface has three facets for articulation with the fibular tarsal bone. The head is directed a little inward and articulates with the central. The fibular tarsal has a long anterior process or “beak,” but the inner process (sustentaculum) is short. The tuber calcis is grooved from before backward. The central has a concave proximal surface adapted to the head of the tibial tarsal. Its distal surface articulates with the first, second, and third tarsals. It bears two tubercles posteriorly. The first tarsal is flattened and irregularly quadrangular; it articulates above with the central and below with the first metatarsal. The second tarsal is the smallest and is wedge-shaped; it articulates below with the second metatarsal bone. The third tarsal is also wedge-shaped, the base being in front; it articulates with the third metatarsal below. The fourth tarsal is remarkably high, and resembles a quadrangular prism; it articulates with the fibular tarsal above, the fourth and fifth metatarsal below, and the central and third tarsal bones internally. A groove for the tendon of the peroneus longus crosses its outer and posterior surface, and above it are one or two tubercles.

Five metatarsal bones are present. The first is commonly very small and has the form of a blunt cone, somewhat compressed laterally. It articulates with the first tarsal and furnishes insertion to the tibialis anterior muscle. In some cases it fuses with the first tarsal; when the first digit is well developed, its metatarsal may resemble the others (except in size) or be reduced in its proximal part to a fibrous band. The other metatarsals are a little longer than the corresponding metacarpals. Their proximal ends are elongated from before backward and have posterior projections, which in the case of the third and fourth usually bear facets for articulation with two small rounded sesamoid bones. In other respects they resemble the metacarpals.

The first digit is often absent. When present, its development varies and it contains one or two phalanges. In other cases the digit is double. The phalanges of the other digits resemble those of the fore limb.