Abstract
The study is carried out on the gross anatomy, biometry and radiographic analysis of tarsal bones in twenty specimens of male and female adult chinkara (Gazella bennettii). The tarsus of chinkara comprises of five bones both grossly and radiographically, settled in three transverse rows viz, tibial and fibular tarsal in the proximal, central and fourth fused tarsal in the middle row, while, the first, second and third fused tarsal in the distal row. The fibular tarsal is the largest and longest bone of the hock, situated on the lateral side and had a bulbous tuber calcis "point of the hock" at the proximal extremity which projects upward and backward. The tibial tarsal bone is the 2nd largest bone of the proximal row, lies on the medial side of the tarsus and bears trochlea at either end. The central and the fourth tarsals are joined to form a large bone which is extended across the entire width of the tarsus and articulates with all bones of the tarsus. The first tarsal is a rectangular piece of bone sited on the posteromedial surface of the hock. The second and third fused tarsal bone resembles the central but is smaller and wedge-shaped. It is situated between the central tarsal bone proximally and the large metatarsal bone distally. The average maximum height and breadth for fibular tarsal, tibial tarsal, central and fourth fused tarsal, first tarsal, second and third fused tarsal are (5.61 +/- 0.23 cm and 2.06 +/- 0.13 cm), (2.79 +/- 0.05 cm and 1.74 +/- 0.01 cm), (1.51 +/- 0.13 cm and 2.08 +/- 0.07cm), (0.61 +/- 0.01 cm and 1.10 +/- 0.06 cm) and (0.98 +/- 0.01 cm and 1.49 +/- 0.01 cm), respectively.