Page:Laboratory Manual of the Anatomy of the Rat (Hunt 1924).djvu/61

Rh thin strap-like muscles along the ventral side of the abdomen and the ventrolateral surface of the thorax. Over the greater part of the abdomen each muscle unites with its fellow by means of the linea alba, along the midventral line. Posterior to the xiphoid process the muscles diverge, running forward ventrolaterally along the thorax. It retracts the sternum and compresses the abdomen. Origin, the posterior part of the pubic symphysis, and the coxal bone in the immediate vicinity. Insertion, the first rib, the manubrium of the sternum, and the clavicle.

Exercise XII. Outline the ventral aspect of the body and draw the muscles into this outline.