Descrição anatômica dos músculos da perna do cachorro-do-mato (Cerdocyon thous)

Abstract

The Cerdocyon thous is a carnivore found in all the Brazilian territory and in some specific places of Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Usually is called ‘’cachorro-do-mato’’, belongs to the Canidae family, and has a omnivorous character. The animals used in this work are from roads and highways deaths due to frequent running over, and to continue the study, we used the dissection method and then photographic to compare the leg muscles of Cerdocyon thous with the others domestic carnivores (dog and cat).The muscles analyzed are considered tibial muscles because are situated near to the respective bone, with origin and insertion in the bone now named. The found muscles were: tibialis, cranialis, long digital extensor, long fibular, lateral digital extensor, long finger I flexor, superficial digital flexor, gastrocnemius, short digital extensor, interossei, caudal tibialis, long digital flexor and popliteus, this acting to flex the knee articulation. The principal muscles difference found between dog and cat (basis for the description of cachorro-do-mato leg muscles) is soleus muscle that is so developed in the cat and absent in the dog.