What Is the General Structure of the Skeleton?
The skeleton is composed of three skeletal subunits: • Appendicular skeleton – the bones of the limbs • Axial skeleton – the bones of the skull, spine, ribs and sternum • Visceral skeleton – bone that forms part of an organ (such as the middle ear ossicles) Bones are organs composed of hard, mineralized tissue that provide structural support to the body. Not all dogs have the exact same size and shape to their bones. Since people have been breeding dogs for hundreds of years, bones vary greatly in their length and thickness depending on the specific breed. Even though the tiny Chihuahua has the same number and type of bones as the Great Dane, the size and shape of their bones are very different. Dogs have the greatest variety in the size and configuration of their skeletons of any species of animal. The skeleton consists of bones that may be classified according to shape: • Long bones are found in the limbs. • Short bones are confined to the wrist (carpus, metacarpus) and ankle (tarsus
