The musculoskeletal anatomy of the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus): Fore- and hindlimb

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Wareing, Katy, Tickle, Peter George, Stokkan, Karl Arne, Codd, Jonathan Richard, Sellers, William Irvin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Locomotion; Muscle; Myology; Tendon; Polar Biology; Rangifer; Rangifer tarandus
• Online Access: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/57732b67-0b3f-4eab-bc1d-7c9899cb5a2e; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1017-y

Reindeer are numerous and widespread across the northern Holarctic. They are efficient long distance migrants and are able to cope with variations in substrate, such as ice, snow, uneven forest floor, wetland and flat grassland. However, as with the vast majority of quadrupedal vertebrates, no quantitative musculoskeletal anatomical information exists for these animals making it difficult to analyse the biomechanics of their locomotor behaviour. In this paper, we describe the gross anatomy of the limb musculature and quantify muscle and tendon morphology. Reindeer show slight hindlimb dominance in muscle and tendon mass, with muscle mass primarily proximally situated and tendon distally situated. Extensor muscles are heavier than flexors, but tendon mass is broadly similar in both extensors and flexors. The only complete quadrupedal data sets available for comparison are for hares and greyhounds making it difficult to identify general patterns. There are no obvious body mass effects and reindeer often comes out as intermediate between hare and greyhound. However, greyhound seem less hindlimb dominated in terms of muscle but both greyhound and hare have much higher masses of tendon compared to reindeer, particularly in their hindlimbs. All these quadrupeds show the commonly observed trait of much larger tendons and less massive muscles in distal limb segments; this reduces the inertial cost of accelerating the limbs. Generally, there is a dearth of available quantitative anatomical data of complete animals. This lack of information is hindering attempts to gain a better understanding of musculoskeletal function in quadrupeds. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.