Ailments of the musculoskeletal systems

Here’s another cutie looking sadly at the camera hoping to be adopted by someone who loves animals. She can be found at the GSPCA and has been spayed.

Continued from last week

More general information

Last week, we commenced sharing some general information pertaining to the bones, muscles, ligaments and joints of the animal’s body. Actually, the skeletal anatomy of man and dog has much in common, including similar terminology. Due to the fact that man evolved into a two-legged creature, there are some significant differences in terms of angles, lengths and positioning of the bones.

The hock, for example, so prominent on the dog, is actually the heel-bone in a man. Whereas man walks on the sole of his foot, the dog walks on the toes. Man carries all his weight on his hips; the dog carries 75 per cent of his weight on his shoulder joints and front legs. This helps to explain why front leg disorders are relatively common in dogs.

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