§3.7Τὰ δ’ ὀστᾶ τοῖς ζῴοις ἀφ’ ἑνὸς πάντα συνηρτημένα ἐστὶ καὶ συνεχῆ ἀλλήλοις ὥσπερ αἱ φλέβες· αὐτὸ δὲ καθ’ αὐτὸ οὐδέν ἐστιν ὀστοῦν.
The bones in animals are all connected with and continuous with one another from a single starting point, just like the veins; and no bone exists by itself in isolation.
Ἀρχὴ δὲ ἡ ῥάχις ἐστὶν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔχουσιν ὀστᾶ.
The spine is the origin in all animals that have bones.
Σύγκειται δ’ ἡ ῥάχις ἐκ σφονδύλων, τείνει δ’ ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς μέχρι πρὸς τὰ ἰσχία.
The spine is composed of vertebrae, and extends from the head down to the hips.
Οἱ μὲν οὖν σφόνδυλοι πάντες τετρημένοι εἰσίν, ἄνω δὲ τὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὀστοῦν συνεχές ἐστι τοῖς ἐσχάτοις σφονδύλοις, ὃ καλεῖται κρανίον.
Now all the vertebrae are perforated, and at the top, the bone of the head is continuous with the topmost vertebrae, which is called the skull.
Τούτου δὲ τὸ πριονωτὸν μέρος ῥαφή.
The serrated part of this is the suture.
Ἔστι δὲ οὐ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως ἔχον τοῦτο τοῖς ζῴοις· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔχει μονόστεον τὸ κρανίον, ὥσπερ κύων, τὰ δὲ συγκείμενον, ὥσπερ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τούτου τὸ μὲν θῆλυ κύκλῳ ἔχει τὴν ῥαφήν, τὸ δ’ ἄρρεν τρεῖς ῥαφὰς ἄνωθεν συναπτούσας, τριγωνοειδεῖς· ἤδη δ’ ὤφθη καὶ ἀνδρὸς κεφαλὴ οὐκ ἔχουσα ῥαφάς.
This is not situated in the same way in all animals; for some have a skull of a single bone, like the dog, and others a composite one, like man; and of the latter, the female has the suture in a circle, while the male has three sutures joining from above in a triangular shape; indeed, a man's head has also been seen which had no sutures at all.
Σύγκειται δ’ ἡ κεφαλὴ οὐκ ἐκ τεττάρων ὀστῶν, ἀλλ’ ἐξ ἕξ· ἔστι δὲ δύο τούτων περὶ τὰ ὦτα, μικρὰ πρὸς τὰ λοιπά.
The head is composed not of four bones, but of six; two of these are around the ears, small in comparison with the rest.
Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς αἱ σιαγόνες τείνουσιν ὀστᾶ.
From the head, the jaws extend as bones.
Κινεῖται δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ζῴοις ἅπασιν ἡ κάτωθεν σιαγών· ὁ δὲ κροκόδειλος ὁ ποτάμιος μόνος τῶν ζῴων κινεῖ τὴν σιαγόνα τὴν ἄνωθεν.
In all other animals, the lower jaw moves; but the river crocodile alone of all animals moves the upper jaw.
Ἐν δὲ ταῖς σιαγόσιν ἔνεστι τὸ τῶν ὀδόντων γένος, ὀστοῦν τῇ μὲν ἄτρητον τῇ δὲ τρητόν, καὶ ἀδύνατον γλύφεσθαι τῶν ὀστῶν μόνον.
In the jaws is contained the class of teeth, which is a bone in one part perforated, in another unperforated, and is the only bone impossible to be carved.
Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ῥάχεως ἥ τε περόνη ἐστὶ καὶ αἱ κλεῖς καὶ αἱ πλευραί.
And from the spine extend both the fibula, the collar-bones, and the ribs.
Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὸ στῆθος ἐπὶ πλευραῖς κείμενον· ἀλλ’ αὗται μὲν συνάπτουσιν, αἱ δ’ ἄλλαι ἀσύναπτοι· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔχει ζῷον ὀστοῦν περὶ τὴν κοιλίαν.
There is also the breastbone situated upon the ribs; but while some of these join together, the others do not join; for no animal has a bone around the belly.
Ἔτι δὲ τά τ’ ἐν τοῖς ὤμοις ὀστᾶ, καὶ αἱ καλούμεναι ὠμοπλάται, καὶ τὰ τῶν βραχιόνων ἐχόμενα, καὶ τούτων τὰ ἐν ταῖς χερσίν.
Furthermore, there are the bones in the shoulders, and the so-called shoulder-blades, and those connected with the arms, and of these, the bones in the hands.
Ὅσα δ’ ἔχει σκέλη πρόσθια, καὶ ἐν τούτοις τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχει τρόπον.
And in those that have forelegs, it is in the same manner in these also.
Κάτω δ’ ᾗ περαίνει, μετὰ τὸ ἰσχίον ἡ κοτυληδών ἐστι καὶ τὰ τῶν σκελῶν ἤδη ὀστᾶ, τά τ’ ἐν τοῖς μηροῖς καὶ κνήμαις, οἳ καλοῦνται κωλῆνες, ὧν μέρος τὰ σφυρά, καὶ τούτων τὰ καλούμενα πλῆκτρα ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσι σφυρόν· καὶ τούτοις συνεχῆ τὰ ἐν τοῖς ποσίν.
Below, where it terminates, after the hip is the socket, and then the bones of the legs, both those in the thighs and shins, which are called limbs, of which the ankles are a part, and of these, the so-called spurs in those that have an ankle; and continuous with these are the bones in the feet.
Ὅσα μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐναίμων καὶ πεζῶν ζῳοτόκα ἐστίν, οὐ πολὺ διαφέρει τὰ ὀστᾶ, ἀλλὰ κατ’ ἀναλογίαν μόνον σκληρότητι καὶ μαλακότητι καὶ μεγέθει.
Now, in those of the red-blooded and terrestrial animals that are viviparous, the bones do not differ much, but only by analogy in hardness, softness, and size.
Ἔτι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἔχει μυελὸν τὰ δ’ οὐκ ἔχει τῶν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ ζῴῳ ὀστῶν.
Moreover, of the bones in the same animal, some contain marrow and others do not.
Ἔνια δὲ ζῷα οὐδ’ ἂν ἔχειν δόξειεν ὅλως μυελὸν ἐν τοῖς ὀστοῖς, οἷον λέων, διὰ τὸ πάμπαν ἔχειν μικρὸν καὶ λεπτὸν καὶ ἐν ὀλίγοις· ἔχει γὰρ ἐν τοῖς μηροῖς καὶ βραχίοσιν.
And some animals would not even seem to have marrow at all in their bones, such as the lion, because of having it completely small and fine and in few bones; for it has it in the thighs and arms.
Στερεὰ δὲ πάντων μάλιστα ὁ λέων ἔχει τὰ ὀστᾶ· οὕτω γάρ ἐστι σκληρὰ ὥστε συντριβομένων ὥσπερ ἐκ λίθων ἐκλάμπειν πῦρ.
The lion has the most solid bones of all; for they are so hard that when they are struck together, fire flashes out as if from stones.
Ἔχει καὶ ὁ δελφὶς ὀστᾶ, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἄκανθαν.
The dolphin also has bones, but not a fish-spine.
Τὰ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων τῶν ἐναίμων τὰ μὲν μικρὸν παραλλάττει, οἷον τὰ τῶν ὀρνίθων, τὰ δὲ τῷ ἀνάλογόν ἐστι ταὐτά, οἷον ἐν τοῖς ἰχθύσι· τούτων γὰρ τὰ μὲν ζῳοτοκοῦντα χονδράκανθά ἐστιν, οἷον τὰ καλούμενα σελάχη, τὰ δ’ ᾠοτοκοῦντα ἄκανθαν ἔχει, ἥ ἐστιν ὥσπερ τοῖς τετράποσιν ἡ ῥάχις.
As for the bones of other red-blooded animals, some differ slightly, such as those of birds, while others are the same by analogy, as in fish; for of these, the viviparous are cartilaginous-spined, such as the so-called selachians, while the oviparous have a spine, which is like the backbone in quadrupeds.
Ἴδιον δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἰχθύσιν, ὅτι ἐν ἐνίοις εἰσὶ κατὰ τὴν σάρκα κεχωρισμένα ἀκάνθια λεπτά.
And it is peculiar to fish that in some of them there are fine, isolated little spines throughout the flesh.
Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ ὄφις ἔχει τοῖς ἰχθύσιν· ἀκανθώδης γὰρ ἡ ῥάχις αὐτοῦ ἐστίν.
Similarly, the snake also is situated like fish; for its spine is spiny.
Τὰ δὲ τῶν τετραπόδων μὲν ᾠοτοκούντων δὲ τῶν μὲν μειζόνων ὀστωδέστερά ἐστι, τῶν δ’ ἐλαττόνων ἀκανθωδέστερα.
And of those that are quadrupeds but oviparous, the bones of the larger ones are more bony, while those of the smaller ones are more spiny.
Πάντα δὲ τὰ ζῷα ὅσα ἔναιμά ἐστιν, ἔχει ῥάχιν ἢ ὀστώδη ἢ ἀκανθώδη· τὰ δ’ ἄλλα μόρια τῶν ὀστῶν ἐνίοις μέν ἐστιν, ἐνίοις δ’ οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ’ ὡς ὑπάρχει τοῦ ἔχειν τὰ μόρια, οὕτω καὶ τοῦ ἔχειν τὰ ἐν τούτοις ὀστᾶ.
All animals that are red-blooded have a spine, either bony or spiny; but the other parts of the bones are present in some and not in others, but as they happen to possess the body parts, so also they possess the bones in these parts.
Ὅσα γὰρ μὴ ἔχει σκέλη καὶ βραχίονας, οὐδὲ κωλῆνας ἔχει, οὐδ’ ὅσα ταὐτὰ μὲν ἔχει μόρια, μὴ ὅμοια δέ· καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτοις ἢ τῷ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον διαφέρει ἢ τῷ ἀνάλογον.
For those that do not have legs and arms do not have limbs either, nor do those that have the same parts but not similar ones; for in these also, they differ either by the more and less or by analogy.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ τὴν τῶν ὀστῶν φύσιν τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον τοῖς ζῴοις·
Such, then, is the character of the nature of bones in animals;