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6.15: Common Names of Joints

  • Page ID
    2455
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    Some joints in animals are given common names that tend to be confusing. For example:

    1. The joint between the femur and the tibia on the hind leg is our knee but the stifle in animals.
    2. Our ankle joint (between the tarsals and metatarsals) is the hock in animals
    3. Our knuckle joint (between the metacarpals or metatarsals and the phalanges) is the fetlock in the horse.
    4. The “knee” on the horse is equivalent to our wrist (ie on the front limb between the radius and metacarpals) see diagrams 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.17 and 6.18.

    Anatomy and physiology of animals Common horse joints.jpg

    Diagram 6.18 - The names of common joints of a horse

    Anatomy and physiology of animals Common dog joints.jpg

    Diagarm 6.19 - The names of common joints of a dog


    This page titled 6.15: Common Names of Joints is shared under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ruth Lawson via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.