Untitled Flashcards Set

The bones of the rear limb include the pelvis, femur, tibia, fibula, tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges.

The pelvis (pehl-vihs), or hip, consists of three pairs of bones: ilium, ischium, and pubis. The ilium (ihl-ē-uhm) is the largest pair and is blade-shaped. The ilium articulates with the sacrum to form the sacroiliac (sā-krō-ihl-ē-ahck) joint. The ischium (ihs-kē-uhm) is the caudal pair of bones. The pubis (pehw-bihs) is the ventral pair of bones that are fused on midline by a cartilaginous joint called the pubic symphysis (pehw-bihck sihm-fih-sihs). The acetabulum (ahs-eh-tahb-yoo-luhm) is the large socket of the pelvic bone that forms where the three bones meet. The acetabulum forms the ball-and-socket joint with the femur (Figure 3–16).

One way to remember the order of the ilium and ischium is that they follow alphabetical order from cranial to caudal. In cattle, the points of the ilium and ischium are called hooks and pins, respectively. They too follow alphabetical order from cranial to caudal.

Ileum and ilium are pronounced the same, yet they have different meanings. Ileum is the distal or aboral (the end opposite the mouth) part of the small intestine, and ilium is part of the pelvic bone. One way to keep these spellings straight is to remember that ileum has an e in it, as in eating and enter/o, which involve the digestive tract. Ilium and pelvis both have an i in them.