LAB 10: Poultry Skeleton & Muscles

Purpose: A brief introduction to the skeleton and major muscles of poultry.

LAB 10.1 Poultry skeleton

LAB 10.2 Poultry muscles

Key words

Skull - only one occipital condyle, large eye orbits & small cranial cavity
Neck - 14 cervical vertebrae in double curve
Thorax - 7 thoracic vertebrae, numbers 2 to 5 are fused
Synsacrum - fusion of thoracic #7, all 14 lumbosacral vertebrae + caudal #1.
 Tail - caudal #2 to #5, + pygostyle (pyramidal shape)
Ribs - total = 7: 2 free and last 5 attached to sternum
Uncinate process - overlaps next rib, found on 2 to 6.
Carina - large area for attachement of flight muscles
Radius & ulna - widely spaced for rotation
Carpals, metacarpals & digits - single unit to anchor flight feathers
Shoulder - glenoid - formed by convergence of scapula, coracoid and clavicle.
Furcula - wishbone - formed by fused clavicles
Pelvis - pubic bones are open ventrally to allow passage of eggs
Femur
Fibula -reduced to needle
Tibiotarsus = tibia + proximal tarsal bones
Tarsometatarsus = distal tarsal bones + metatarsals 2, 3 and 4.
Digits - 1 faces backwards, 2,3 & 4 face forwards
Pectoralis - flaps wing downwards
Supracoracoideus - flaps wing upwards
Sartorius
Iliotibialis
Biceps femoris
Semimembranosus
Semitendinosus
Gastrocnemius
Peroneus longus