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Canine Anatomy

This text is intended for people who already possess knowledge of either veterinary or human anatomy. To assist communication among human rehabilitation and veterinary colleagues, some anatomic terms used for dogs appear in regular print with the analogous terminology for humans in parentheses following the canine term. These comparisons have been minimized, as this is a chapter about canine anatomy and not a chapter about comparative anatomy. Comparative anatomy between dogs and humans has been described in other sources.1–3

We have chosen to use some terms consistently throughout the chapter, rather than use equally acceptable synonyms. The canine forelimb is known also as the thoracic limb and the pectoral limb, but we use the term forelimb. The canine hindlimb is known also as the pelvic limb or rear limb, but we use the term hindlimb. Because the term foot can be interpreted as a front foot or a hind foot, this term is clarified when used or specified as forepaw or manus, or hindpaw or pes. The terms trunk, neck, and head refer to the same body segments in dogs and humans. The word canine is an adjective and the word dog is a noun; these terms are used in this consistent grammatical form throughout the chapter.

Directional Terms and Anatomic Planes

Directional Terms from Normal Stance (Anatomic Position)

The dog stands upright on digits or phalanges of each forepaw or manus and each hindpaw or pes (Figure 5-1). This type of stance is termed a digitigrade stance. The human stands upright on the feet, with the plantar aspect of the feet contacting the floor and adjacent to each other. The upper limbs hang at the sides of the body, palms facing forward. This type of stance is called a plantigrade stance.

Figure 5-1 Orientation to planes of motion and directional terms for the dog. (From Dyce KM: Textbook of veterinary anatomy, ed 4, St Louis, 2010, Saunders.)

Directional terms from anatomic position in dogs are more directly compared with the directional terms in humans when the human is in a quadruped position or the dog is in an upright stance posture. Directional terms include cranial, caudal, rostral, dorsal, palmar, plantar, medial, and lateral. Other specific directional terms include (1) radial and ulnar to indicate toward the radius and ulna, respectively; (2) axial and abaxial to indicate toward or away from the axis of the digits, which is between the third and fourth digits of the forepaw, and the third and fourth digits of the hind paw, respectively; and (3) tibial and fibular to indicate toward the tibia and fibula, respectively.

Anatomic Planes

The main planes of motion for dogs are as follows (see Figure 5-1):

• The sagittal plane divides the dog into right and left portions. If this plane were in the midline of the body, this is the median plane or median sagittal plane.

• The dorsal plane divides the dog into ventral and dorsal portions.

• The transverse plane divides the body into cranial and caudal portions.

Axes of Rotation

Motion may occur in any of three planes of motion or some combination. Joint motion within a plane usually occurs around an axis of rotation, which may be centered within the joint space or within the bone comprising the joint. Some joint motions are planar or gliding motions and do not occur around an axis of rotation.

An axis of rotation for a joint motion is a straight line or rod that is 90 degrees to the plane of motion. For each axis of rotation listed in the next section, the plane of motion around which joint motion occurs can be viewed from Figure 5-1.

Axes of Rotational Joint Motion

The axes of rotational joint motion are as follows:

• Transverse axis: Sagittal plane motion occurs around an axis of rotation that is directed mediolaterally.

• Ventrodorsal axis: Dorsal plane motion occurs around an axis of rotation that is directed ventrodorsally.

• Craniocaudal axis: Transverse plane motion, such as rotation of the trunk, occurs around an axis of rotation that is directed craniocaudally.

Most joints allow motion in more than one plane. Dogs and humans have the ability to selectively produce motion in one, some, or all of the planes of motion at one time. Dogs have much more limitation in motion in the dorsal and transverse planes.

Bones

The bones of the...