The osteology of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana): vertebral column, ribs and sternum

The vertebral column, sternum and ribs of the African elephant were studied and illustrated. In the cervical series, the vertebrae are characterized by very short (compressed) vertebral bodies and short spinous processes. There are 20-21 thoracic vertebrae that carry ribs, and three lumbar vertebrae. The neural arches of the five sacral vertebrae fuse with each other as well as with the wings of the ilium, while the intervertebral discs do not ossify and the vertebral bodies remain separate. There are 19-21 caudal vertebrae. In the latter, the neural arches of only the first five to six vertebrae fuse dorsally, the vertebral foramens of the other vertebrae as well as the vertebral canal remain open dorsally. The body of the first rib is greatly expanded while that of the last three to four ribs are reduced. The cartilages of the first six ribs articulate with the sternum, the last five to six ribs do not bear costal cartilages and are not attached to the costal arch. The sternum consists of five sternabrae that form three approximately equal , but separate, segments. The first segment is formed by the first sternabra, the second segment is formed by the second to fourth sternabrae and the last segment is formed by the fifth sternabra. The first and second sternabrae articulate with each other by means of a synovial joint, the second to fourth sternabrae are fused to each other and the fourth and fifth sternabrae are loosely attached to each other by connective tissue.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat X Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

The skull and mandible of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana)

In the present study the bones of the skull, excluding the hyoid apparatus, are described. All the bones are aerated by sinuses. In the occipital bone the squamous part is aerated from the sinus of the parietal bone, the lateral part is aerated from the tympanic bulla and the basal part from the sinus of the basisphenoid bone. Condylar foramens and hypoglossal canals are absent. A small interparietal bone is present at birth. At an early age it fuses with the surrounding cranial bones. The squamous part of the temporal bone lies sagittally in young animals, but moves progressively to a transverse plane as the animals age. A foramen lacerum is represented by jugular and oval foramens and the carotid canal. The body of the basisphenoid bone is excavated by the massive maxillary tuberosity. The latter extends to the oval foramen and contains the developing molar teeth. The ethmoturbinate, nasal and lacrimal bones are exceptionally small. In old bulls the palatine processes of the incisive bones and their sinuses are gradually displaced by the palatine processes of the maxillae. The incisive part of the mandible does not carry any teeth and both lateral and medial mental foramina are present.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

Adult male elephant skull, dorsal view

Anatomical representation of a dorsal view of the juvenile elephant skull.Black/white wash painting technique. Original canvas size: (w)51.0 x (h)41.0 cm. Original scanned size in pixels: 8688 x 10128 pixels (600 dpi). Final size in pixels:550 x 431 (150 dpi). Estimate download time: 41 sec @ 28.8 kbps.Metadata assigned by Prof. H.B. Groenewald

Elephant atlas, oblique cranial view

Anatomical representation of a oblique cranial view of the elephant atlas.Black/white wash painting technique. Original canvas size: (w)51.0 x (h)41.0 cm. Original scanned size in pixels: 6312 x 7872 pixels (600 dpi). Final size in pixels:550 x 369 (150 dpi). Estimate download time: 30 sec @ 28.8 kbps.Metadata assigned by Prof. H.B. Groenewald

Elephant left middle and distal phalanges

Anatomical representation of the left middle and distal phalanges of an adult elephant.Black/white wash painting technique. Original canvas size: (w)25.5 x (h)25.5 cm. Original scanned size in pixels: (w)5920 x (h)5520 pixels (600 dpi). The twelve drawings on this canvas were cropped to two pages (150 dpi each) and combined to one pdf file format for easy download and viewing.Metadata assigned by Prof. H.B. Groenewald

Adult elephant skull, ventral view

Anatomical representation of a ventral view of the adult elephant skull.Black/white wash painting technique. Original canvas size: (w)51.0 x (h)41.0 cm. Original scanned size in pixels: 8672 x 10040 pixels (600 dpi). Final size in pixels:475 x 550 (150 dpi). Estimate download time: 46 sec @ 28.8 kbps.Metadata assigned by Prof. H.B. Groenewald

Elephant female pelvis, caudal aspect

Anatomical representation of the pelvis, caudal aspect, of a female elephant.Black/white wash painting technique. Original canvas size: (w)64.0 x (h)51.0 cm. Original scanned size in pixels: (w)9896 x (h)7824 (400dpi). Final size in pixels (w)600 x (h)524 (150 dpi). Estimate download time: 20 sec @ 28.8 kbps.Metadata assigned by Prof. H.B. Groenewald

Elephant left humerus, dorsal aspect

Anatomical representation of the left humerus, dorsal aspect, of an elephant.Black/white wash painting technique. Original canvas size: (w)26.0 x (h)23.5 cm. Original scanned size in pixels: (w)5864 x (h)5048 pixels (400 dpi). Final size in pixels:(w)600 x (h)575 (150 dpi). Estimate download time: 19 sec. @ 28.8 kbps.Metadata assigned by Prof. H.B. Groenewald

Elephant left metatarsal bones, dorsal and plantar aspects

Anatomical representation of the left metatarsal bones, dorsal and plantar aspects, of an adult elephant.Black/white wash painting technique. Original canvas size: (w)26.0 x (h)39.0 cm. Original scanned size in pixels: (w)5640 x (h)7720 pixels (600 dpi). The ten drawings on this canvas were cropped to two pages (150 dpi each) and combined to one pdf file format for easy download and viewing.Metadata assigned by Prof. H.B. Groenewald

Elephant cervical vertebrae 4, cranial view

Anatomical representation of a cranial view of the elephant cervical vertebrae 4.Black/white wash painting technique. Original canvas size: (w)25.5 x (h)39.5 cm. Original scanned size in pixels: 6312 x 7872 pixels (800 dpi). Final size in pixels:522 x 550 (150 dpi). Estimate download time: 43 sec @ 28.8 kbps.Metadata assigned by Prof. H.B. Groenewald