Veterinary Gross Anatomy

NUMBER OF SKELETAL SEGMENTS

• The number of bony segments are varies with the species.
• Some of the bones are laid down in the embryonic life, either fuse or disappear in adult life. So the young and adult animal of the same species will not have the same number of bones.
• The number of bones in the skeleton are given below

	Skull (Including hyoid and mandible)	Vertebral column (approx)	Ribs and Sternum	Fore limb	Hind limb	Visceral bone
Ox	32	51	26+1+0	24 x 2	24 x 2	2 os cordis	208
Horse	32	51	36+1+0	20 x 2	20 x 2	-	200
Dog	32	51	26+1+2	44 x 2	45 x 2	1 os penis	291
Pig	30	52	28-30+1+0	40 x 2	40 x 2	1 os rostri	274
Rabbit	34	46	24-26+1+0	31 x 2	29 x 2	-	229
Fowl	40	41	14+1+1+2	13 x 2 (coracoid)	21 x 2	2 os opticus	169