Canine Anatomy

* **Nose:**Dog noses are often cold and wet, and of course, they usually get stuck where they’re not wanted.
* The**muzzle:**comprised of the upper and lower jaws.

The **stop:** indentation (sometimes nonexistent) between the muzzle and the braincase or forehead.

* The **forehead (braincase)**is the portion of the head that’s similar to your own forehead; it goes from the stop and eyebrows to the back point of the skull.
* The **occiput** is the highest point of the skull at the back of the head and a prominent feature on some dogs.
* It’s well known what **ears** are, but different dogs have different types of ears, including:
	+ **Pricked:** Pricked ears are upright.
	+ **Dropped:** Dropped ears hang down.
	+ **Button:** Button ears have a fold in them.
	+ **Cropped:** Cropped ears are surgically altered.
* **Eyes** are pretty obvious, and most often obviously brown.
* Like humans, dogs have **eyebrows,**or simply **brows.**
* **Whiskers** provide some sensory feeling.
* **Flews** is just a fancy word for a dog’s **lips.**
* A dog’s c**heek**is the skin along the sides of the muzzle — about where your cheeks are if you had a muzzle.

* The **nape** of the neck is where the neck joins the base of the skull in the back of the head.
* The**throat** is beneath the jaws.
* The **crest** starts at the nape and ends at the withers (see the last item in this list).
* The **neck** is pretty self-explanatory; it runs from the head to the shoulders.
* The **shoulder** is the top section of the foreleg from the withers to the elbow.
* The **withers** are the top point of the shoulders, making them the highest point along the dog’s back.

* The **prosternum** is the top of the *sternum,* a bone that ties the rib cage together.
* The **chest** is the entire rib cage of the dog.
* The **back** runs from the point of the shoulders to the end of the rib cage. The term *back* is sometimes used to describe the back and the loin.
* The **flank** refers to the side of the dog between the end of the chest and the rear leg.
* The **belly** or **abdomen** is the underside of the dog from the end of its rib cage to its tail.
* The **loin** is the back between the end of the rib cage and the beginning of the pelvic bone.

* The **upper arm** on the foreleg is right below the shoulder and is comprised of the humerus bone, which is similar (in name anyway) to the one found in your own upper arm. It ends at the elbow.
* The **elbow** is the first joint in the dog’s leg located just below the chest on the back of the foreleg.
* The long bone that runs after the elbow on the foreleg is the **forearm.** Like your arms, it’s comprised of the ulna and radius. The forearm may have feathering on the back.
* The **wrist** is the lower joint below the elbow on the foreleg.
* Sometimes called the **carpals, pasterns** are equivalent to the bones in your hands and feet —not counting fingers and toes — and dogs have them in both forelegs and hind legs.
* Dogs have a **foot** or **paw**at the end of each leg, called the**forefoot**or**hind foot**depending on whether it’s front or back. The paw comes with nails (sometimes called *claws*), paw pads, and usually dewclaws.
* A dog’s **toes** are equivalent to your fingers and toes, although you can wiggle yours more easily.
* **Dewclaws** are vestiges of thumbs. Because dogs never figured out the opposable thumbs concept (thank goodness, too— can you imagine what mischief they’d get into with them?), these dewclaws are more or less useless appendages.
* The **toenails** or **claws** on the end of each toe are actually incorporated with part of the last bone of the toes.
* On the underside of the foot are several **pads,** including one main pad*(communal pad)* and a pad under each toe, for a total of five pads. You can find stopper pads behind the wrist on your dog’s forelegs as well.
* The **upper thigh** is the part of the dog’s leg situated above the knee on the hind leg.
* The **stifle** or **knee** is the joint that sits on the front of the hind leg in line with the abdomen.
* The **lower thigh** is the part of the hind leg beneath the knee to the hock (see next bullet item). Some dogs have feathering along the back of their lower thighs and hocks.
* The **hock is** the oddly shaped joint that makes a sharp angle at the back of the dog’s legs. It corresponds with your ankle.

* The **rump**(or**croup**) is the proverbial rear end; it’s where the pelvis bone is.
* The **tail set** is where the tail attaches to the rump. Some dogs have high tail sets, others have low ones.
* Everyone recognizes the dog’s **tail** (or its absence); it’s usually wagging at you.

Information Found On:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/dog-anatomy-from-head-to-tail.html