CVA Lab Practical 1

Rachis

Shaft of feather, Extension of the Calamus

Barbs

Extension of feather fibers off of Rachis

Barbules

Interlocking feather fibers between Barbs, Extending from Barbs

Vane

Cumulative stretch of Barbs, the side of the feather

Horn Composition

Periosteum, Dermis, and Epidermis (in that order) surround a bony core.

Antler Composition

Periosteum, Dermis, and Epidermis (in that order) surround a bony core BELOW the Abscisson line, velvet covers the bony core ABOVE the Abscisson line.

Cervical Vertebrae

Vertebrae extending from the base of the neck, ending in the Axis-Atlas complex at the base of the skull

Atlas

FIRST part of Cervical Vertebrae, holds your head upright (Named after Greek Myth God who holds the world on his shoulders.

Axis

SECOND part of Cervical Vertebrae, allows for side-to-side movement of head.

Thoracic Vertebrae

Vertebrae AFTER Cervical, starting at the shoulders of the organism. Usually has caudal neural spines, but

Lumbar Vertebrae

Vertebrae past the Thoracic vertebrae on a cat, contains part of the caudal ribs and attaches abdomen to pelvis. Usually thicker/stumpier vertebrae.

Sacral Vertebrae

3 Vertebrae fused to form the Sacrum, connected to the pelvis.

Caudal Vertebrae

Extension of Sacrum vertebrae, free moving vertebrae to make up the tail of the organism.

Caraspace

Fusion of vertebral regions in Turtle, creates dorsal protective element

Plastron

Protective ventral underbelly of the turtle.

Capitulum

Posterior end of rib that connects to the spinal column

Synsacrum

Sacral portion of a bird, fusion of Thoracic, Lumbar, Sacral, and Caudal vertebrae into a single backbone. DOES NOT contain rib attachments.

Pygostyle

Last bits of caudal vertebrae that fuse into a solid terminal piece. (similar to a birds tail)

Intervertebral foramen

Lateral opening between vertebrae, where blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics pass through the spine. Formed by the interlocking of two intervertebral notches, one from each adjacent vertebrae.

Intervertebral notch

A notch alongside the vertebrae that interlocks with an adjacent notch to form the intervertebral foramen.

Neural Canal

The largest opening/cavity within a vertebrae that protects the spinal cord.

Neural Arch

The arched/curved portion of the vertebrae along the outer dorsal of the neural canal.

Neural Spine

The bony extention/spiney part of the vertebrae, allows for structure.

Transverse Process

The ‘wing’-like extensions on the side of a vertebrae that allow for muscle/ligaments to anchor to the vertebrae.

Centrum

The ventral & central most part of the vertebrae, ventral portion of the neural canal.

Demifacet

A shallow depression on the outer-central ventral region of a vertebrae, shares a rib head with an adjacent vertebrae.

Full facet

Protruding depression on the sides of each vertebrae that is a full articulation site, connecting to a single rib.

Capitulum

‘Lower Head’ of rib, ventral/lower articular head of the rib connected to the full and demi-facets.

Tuberculum

‘Upper Head’ of rib, connects with the transverse process of the thoracic vertebrae.

True Ribs

Ribs that extend from the vertebrae and connect directly to the sternum via costal cartilages.

False Ribs

Ribs that connect indirectly to the sternum by creating the costal arch via their costal cartilages

Vertebral Ribs

Any rib that connects to the vertebral column

Free-Floating Ribs

Ribs that have no connection to the sternum, towards the caudal portion of the rib cage.

Hemal Arch

An arch on the underside of caudal (tail) vertebrae.

Coccyx

Homologous to the pygostyle in avians, a fusion of caudal vertebrae at the very end of the spinal cord (tailbone).