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Equine Kidney
The horse has two kidneys, paired retroperitoneal organs responsible for filtering metabolic waste from the blood, regulating fluid and electrolyte balance, and producing urine. In anatomy they differ from most mammals: the right kidney is heart-shaped and the left kidney is bean-shaped, a distinction unique to Equidae and a landmark in equine anatomical study. Anatomy…
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esophagus
The esophagus is the muscular tube that carries food and water from the mouth to the stomach, running a course of roughly 125 to 150 centimeters in the adult horse — longer than in most domestic species — descending through the neck along the left side of the trachea before passing through the thorax and…
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Pus
Pus is the viscous, opaque fluid produced at a site of bacterial infection. It consists of dead and living neutrophils, the bacteria they have engulfed or failed to contain, cellular debris from lysed tissue, and the serum that leaked into the tissue during the inflammatory response. The color ranges from off-white to yellow or green,…
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Urethra
The urethra is the muscular tube that carries urine from the bladder to the exterior of the body. In horses it is the final segment of the urinary tract, connecting the bladder neck directly to the urethral opening. Anatomy differs markedly by sex. In mares the urethra is short (approximately 8 cm) and opens onto…
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Croup
The croup is the topline section of the horse running from the highest point of the hip (the point of the croup) back to the tail head, covering the gluteal and hamstring musculature of the hindquarters. It is one of the primary power stations of locomotion: the muscles beneath it drive hindlimb propulsion, determine stride…
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Mandible
The mandible is the lower jaw bone of the horse. It is the only movable bone of the skull, articulating with the temporal bone just below and forward of each ear at the temporomandibular joint. All the lower teeth are set into the mandible: incisors at the front, the tushes (canine teeth) in male horses,…
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Bile in Horses
Bile is the digestive secretion produced by the liver and used to emulsify dietary fats in the small intestine. The horse is unusual among domestic mammals in one important respect: it has no gallbladder. In most species the gallbladder stores bile between meals and releases a concentrated bolus when fat enters the duodenum. Because horses…
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Tissue
Tissue, in equine anatomy and physiology, refers to any organized group of cells with a shared structure and function that together form the fabric of the horse’s body. Veterinarians and equine scientists use the term precisely: the four primary tissue types — epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous — are the building blocks from which every…
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Friesian Horse
The Friesian is a heavy warmblood originating in the Friesland province of the northern Netherlands. One of Europe’s oldest native breeds, it is distinguished by its solid black coat, dense feathering on the lower legs, powerfully arched neck, and an animated, high-stepping trot. The governing registry is the Koninklijk Friesian Paarden-Stamboek (KFPS), founded in 1879.…