Osteological Study on the Humerus of Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus)

The fore and hind limbs of the elephant are arranged in an almost vertical position under the body, similar to a pillar or leg of a table rather than being in the angular position seen in many other quadruped mammals to support great weight. The aim of this study is to elucidate the osteological outline on the humerus of Elephants, thereby making more contribution in filling the gap of knowledge and skills framework in this field.

For the present study material from three Indian elephants were used. Some of the specimens were available at the Department of Veterinary Anatomy, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Mhow. Few skeletons were dug out from the ground which were buried from last 5–10 years in the premises of College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Mhow.

Humerus has a proximal and a distal extremity and a shaft. The shaft was consisted of four surfaces. The cylindrical shaped shaft of humerus was consisted of four surfaces. The Musculo spiral groove was limited by the lateral epicondyloid crest at the posterior surface of the shaft. The deltoid tuberosity was present in the proximal third of the shaft. The proximal extremity was consisted of the head, neck, two tuberosities and the intertubular groove. Distal extremity consisted of two condyles which were unequal in size and separated by a ridge.