DISSECTION. Students must dissect as many animals as possible, so as to familiarize themselves with the _frame work or structure_, and the location of the _digestive, nervous and blood systems_, as it will aid materially in the art or process of determining the nature of various diseases. During cool weather an animal for dissecting purposes can be kept for a considerable length of time without preservatives It is well to have a copy of Anatomy at hand when dissecting for it will show the location of the various organs and explain their functions. [Illustration: PLATE I. SKELETON OF HORSE--AFTER MEGNIN.] EXPLANATION OF PLATE I SKELETON OF THE HORSE 1. Skull, or skeleton of the head. 2. Cervical vertebræ or neck bones. 3. Dorsal vertebræ or back bones. 4. Lumbar vertebræ or loin bones. 5. Sacral vertebræ or rump bones. 6. Coccygeal vertebræ or tail bones. 7. Pelvic or hip bones. 8. Sternum or breast bone. 9. Ribs. 10. Scapula or shoulder blade. 11. Humerus or shoulder bone. 12. Radius or bone of the fore-arm. 13. Ulna or bone of the fore-arm. 14. Carpus or bones of the knee. 15. Os Melacarpi Magnus, metacarpal, or cannon bone. 16. Ossa Melacarpi Parva, or splint bones. 17. Proximal Phalanx, os suffraginis, or large pastern bone. 18. Great Sesamoid Bones. 19. Medium Phalanx, os coronæ, or small pastern bone. 20. Distal Phalanx, os pedis, or coffin bone. 21. Os Naviculare, small sesamoid, or shuttle bone. (This bone can be plainly seen Plate VII). 22. Femur, or thigh bone. 23. Patella, or stifle bone. 24. Tibia, or leg bone. 25. Fibula. (This bone is little developed in the horse.) 26. Tarsus or hock bones. 27. Metatarsus, or os metatarsi magnus. 28. Ossa Metatarsi Parva, or splint bones of the hind leg. Names of joints placed according to numbers. I. Shoulder Joint. II. Elbow Joint. III. Carpus or knee joint. IV. Fetlock Joint. V. Pastern Joint. VI. Coffin Joint. VII. Hip Joint. VIII. Stifle Joint. IX. Tarsus or hock joint. CHAPTER I. OSTEOLOGY. STRUCTURE OF THE BONES--Bones are hard, yellow-white, insensitive objects, which form the skeleton and give attachment to soft structures (muscles, tendons and ligaments); they are of various sizes, forms and densities. In the limbs the bones are ordinarily more or less long, circular bodies, with expanded ends, effectually supporting the body, supplying leverage and attachment for soft structures, and forming the basis of all joints. Where cavities, such as the cranium, chest, and pelvic, enclosing the organs requiring protection and support, the bones tend to assume a flat, expanded form. Living bone is bluish pink, insensitive, and elastic; on exposure to air it becomes diseased and blackened, very sensitive and painful; (the teeth excepted) which are harder and of a higher specific gravity than any other bone formation.