Answer to Question #118831 in Evolution for Jennifer

Question

Structural differences between the hind foot of a dog, goat and human

Answer 1

Structural Differences Between the Hind Foot of a Dog, Goat, and Human.

The hind foot of a dog exhibit a digitigrade alignment whereby the articulation of both distal and proximal bones of the limbs leads into a quasi diverticular column alignment with a hock joint. In humans, the hind foot exhibit a unique plantigrade alignment whereby the tarsal is modified to be more robust to take up more load. Lastly, the unique structure of goat hind legs is the reduction in the number of toes where it has a total of three toes.