Keel (bird anatomy) Keel (bird anatomy) A keel or carina (plural carinae) in bird anatomy is an extension of the sternum (breastbone) which runs axially along the midline of the sternum and extends outward, perpendicular to the plane of the ribs. The keel provides an anchor to which a bird's wing muscles attach, thereby providing adequate leverage for flight. Keels do not exist on all birds; in particular, some flightless birds lack a keel structure. Historically, the presence or absence of a pronounced keel structure was used as a broad classification of birds into two orders: Carinatae (from "carina", "keel"), having a pronounced
Center for Anatomy of the Charité Center for Anatomy of the Charité The Center for Anatomy of the Charité is one of the centers of the Universitätsmedizin Berlin Charité in Berlin whose primary goals are anatomy teaching and research. It is part of Charité Center 2 for basic medicine and is composed of 3 institutes - Institute of Integrative Anatomy, Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Institute of Vegetative Anatomy. It has a long history. Past directors: Christian Max Spener (1713–1714), Heinrich Henrici (1714–1723), August Buddeus (1696–1753), Johann Friedrich Meckel, the Elder (1753–1773), Johann Gottlieb Walter (1773–1810), Karl Bogislaus Reichert (until 1883), Heinrich Wilhelm Waldeyer, Rudolph