Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1870-04-20

The pachydermata who have only
one toe belong to the family solipcda-
singye.footed. Therefore the horse ranks
under the division vertebratu, the class
mammalia; the tribe ungulstu; the
order paehydermata and the family
soIipedu
The sOIipedu consists of fseveral species:
as the ass, the mule, giraffe &c. First
stands the equus or common horse.
Animals are likewise distinguished ac-
cording the number, description, and
situation of their teeth. The horse has
six iacisor8 or cutting teeth. in the front
of each jaw, and one canine tooth or
t,tsk in each jaw. On each side, above
and below, and at some distance from
the incisOrs, behind the CANNES and
with some intervening space, are six
B,OZdr teeth or grinders, and these mo-
/ lar teetllzhave fat crowns with ridges of
enamel, .aud that enamel penetrating
! into the substance Of the tooth. Thus
/ it will be seen the horse has twelve nip
pers, four tusks, twenty-four grinders,
making forty in all ..
THE EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE
HORSE,
: We begin with the general frame
( work. In this division however, a min
ute description of each part is foreign to
our purpose. The skeleton IS composed
Of two hundred and forty-seven separate
bones, which are united by joints to
form the spine, thOrax, pelvis, tail, and
fore and extremities The spine is fin
ished anteriorly by the head which. is
divided into the Uranium, or skull, and
face, and contains the teeth, suspended
from the head is the os-hyOides bone of
the tongue} which completes the num-
her Of bones thus The spine consists of
I I ceryicaL -veEtebrr, is dorsal, and @
/ lumbar veFtebrse. Total 81. The tho
rax is made upo of the dorsal vertebrfe,
with Is ribs on each side, and the ster-
mum in the middle. Total 81. The pei
I Wis comprises the .illium, ischiunl, and
pubes. Total 3. The tail contains on
the average II bones. The fore extrem-
tiles is made up on each side of the
scapula; hurmerus, os brachi, and S
IcarpaI bones, 3 metacarpal, os suffragin-
is, os coronee,-, ,os pedis, Os naviculare, ,
Os sessemoid. Total on both sides 40.
The hind extremities has the femur,
patella, tibia, f1bula, tarsal bones, 3
metatarsaIs, os Buffraginis os coronea,
os pedisr Os navicnIare, . ossa sessemoid.
Total IS. Bones of the Uranium 10;
bones Of the face and lower jaws Is ;
Teeth 40, bones of the internal ear, four
in each organ, 8, os hyoides or bones of
/ Ithe-tengHe made up Of five sections 5.
Grand total 24F.
The hoofs are the mud siIls of the
frame work, each holding coffin-like
within its cavity the coffin bone Gas Pc
dis which is the first bone Of the leg.
Next above this is the lower Dastern
bone, in front resting upon the coffin
bone firmly, and closely, bat with an
opening at the back, which admits Il
small bone of a peculiar shape, called
the navicular-literaIIy, ship shaped,
or shuttle-bope Iqs navicularJ this ex-
! tends backwards, and forms the prOjec-
ton of the heel. Next in order is the up
| per bone, upon which rests the
shank-b0ne with sessamOid bone, which
articulates With the a9kIejoint, and laps
over the point ofjunetion of the shank
and upper pastern-bone. The knee-joint,
is composed of seven bones, Back the
knee, and just below it, is a small thin
bone extending down the front shank
nearly its entire length, and denomina-
ted the splint-bone of the fore leg.
Above the knee Is the main bone of the
leg ftheYradius) known amonghorsemen
as the arm. It's the longest and largest
bone of the fore leg. Above the arm is
bone of peculiar shape named the 1l-
ma elbow still higher UP is the humer-
US, the upper bone Of the arm, some
times fatheF vaguely termed the shoul-
der-bone. This completes the bones of
the fOreleg. d. la--'-
In the hind leg, the bones are pre-
cisely similar until we reach the hook
joint, which is composed of six bones.
Th8sllaak Of the hind leg has tw0splint-
bones, while the fore leg has but one.
The point or projection Of the hook is
called the;os eaIcis, or heel bone. Above
this is the Tibia, tfute, or pipe-bone)
the largest bone of thevwhOle structure.
Behind this and fitting closely to it, is
small bone called 1fbuIa Osfgniying a
clasp or buckle.
The stife joint is formed by the tibia
and fen4ur or thigh bone which is next
above. 1t is covered in front by the
patella, or fnee-paH- The six bones of
the launches, or hips-three OH each
side, complete the bones of the hind
limbs; upon the fore legs which serve as
post, rests the supeHtructure,
Next may be mentioned the bones Of
the head. The most noteworthy of
these are the superior Bnd inferior max
illaries, the upper ana lower jaw bones.
In these are set the teeth. q molars,
or grinders-6 on each side above and
below; II incisOrs, or front teeth--six
above, and six below; and / canine
teeth or tusks-one on each side above
and below. The bones which compose
the skull, or Uranium, and which con-
tain and protect the brain are nine
two frontal, two parietaIs, occipitaI, two
temporal, the ethmoid, and the sphen-
old. The two latter lie principally at !
the base Of he skull. These nine bones
are separate in the foaI at an early
period Of its existence, but soon after
the birth they are hrmly united to-
gether by what anatomists call sutures,
and SO firm is the union, that fracture
will occur in any other part more readi-
ly than oVep q suture.
There Is an evident intention in this
division of the head into so many bones |
When the foetus-the unborn fOal-frst
begins to have life, that which after
wards becomes bone, is a mere Jelly like |
substance; this is gradually changed
into harder notwithstanding and |
before the birth of the animal, much of
the cartilage taken away by vessels cal,
led absorbents, and bone deposited in its
stead At the period of birth, however,
this process is not completed, but the