Redirect 3.5% of your income tax to support us!

The interactive dog atlas · Skeleton · Hind limb

Hind digits digiti pedis

The toes of the hind foot are at the end of the paw: usually four that bear weight, each with three small bones, a pad and a claw.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Skeleton Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Hind digits
  2. Metatarsus
Hind digits on the atlas drawing, "Skeleton" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

The end of the hind paw.

System
Hind limb
Region
Hind limb

What it is and what it does

The hind paw usually has four weight-bearing digits, II-V, each with three phalanges, a pad and a claw. Digit I, the hind dewclaw, is absent in most dogs; in some breeds it is present and even required by the standard, sometimes double. The digits take the final push-off at every stride.

Worth remembering

The hind dewclaw is absent in most dogs; in some breeds it is present and required by the standard.

Names

  • Also called: hind phalanges.
  • Latin term: digiti pedis.
  • In Romanian: Degetele posterioare (Romanian page).

From the same region: Hind limb

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: skeleton