Where it is
The flat bone on the side of the thorax, under the shoulder region.
- Layer
- Skeleton
- System
- Forelimb
- Region
- Forelimb
What it is and what it does
The scapula is the flat, triangular bone of the shoulder. It has no joint with the trunk: in the dog the clavicle is a rudiment of about one centimeter, not connected to the skeleton, so the forelimb "hangs" from the body in a sling of muscles and ligaments. With the humerus it forms the shoulder joint.
The serratus ventralis muscle carries the weight of the trunk between the two scapulae; when standing, the forelimbs support about 60% of the body weight.
Worth remembering
The muscles around it support the weight of the trunk between the front legs.
Names
- Also called: shoulder blade, blade.
- Latin term: scapula.
- In Romanian: Scapula (omoplatul) (Romanian page).
In the atlas lessons
The skeleton, from skull to tail (5 min):
The shoulder blade: with no functional clavicle, the forelimb is attached to the trunk only by muscles and ligaments.
Questions from the atlas
"Find it on the drawing" questions whose answer is this structure; in the atlas you will find them in the question bank and in the lessons.