A comparative anatomical study of the femur of domestic 1"o\vl, guinea fowl, turkey and ostrich

Abstract

,p align="justify">The shaft of the femur was slender and less curved in domestic fowl but vice versa in turkey and Guinea fowl and vertical and flat in ostrich. A bony ridge was observed in both the anterior and posterior aspects ofthe shaft in ostrich and it was in the form of a muscular line in other species. The head was kept below the level of the greater trochanter in domestic fowl and Guinea fowl but above in the ostrich. In turkey, it was in line with the great trochanter. The fovea capitis in ostrich was in the form of a deeper notch than the other species. A well-developed trochanter minor was observed only in the ostrich. The medial supracondyloid fossa as faint and the lateral one was absent in domestic fowl and Guinea fowl while in turkey, only a common deep fossa was located 'between the two condyles.