Section 2 Overview:

In this relatively short section of material we move from the thoracic limb to the axial skeleton and its associated soft tissues.  We review skull and vertebral axial skeleton osteology and arthrology and follow this with two labs dedicated to the imaging anatomy of these body parts.  We finish by dissecting the musculature of the neck and back and considering various ligaments between the many joints and bones of the axial skeleton.

How to use this guide

To facilitate efficient dissection progress, the lab guide is generally organized into carnivore dissection sections, with ungulate comparative anatomy at the end of each section. Appendices contain helpful details to support greater understanding.  The unit terms list concludes the content at the end of each lab, and you should use these lists as your study guide. For quick reference, the Resource Summary page should include links to all review videos and a complete terms list for the unit.

Pay close attention to clinical relevance information in magenta text boxes to help connect the lab content to what is discussed in lecture. Content in blue text boxes contains dissection instructions, while content in green text boxes indicates observation required only and states the structures that should be identified following successful dissection.

Where relevant, dissection instructions are followed with dissection images. These images may be clicked to enlarge, and Pressbooks will return to the place in the guide via using the back button. If images are not referenced in the guide, you may assume that they were produced by the NCSU Anatomy Team and labeled for internal use.  All other figure captions have a superscript indicating their source reference.