Sacrum The number of sacral vertebrae varies slightly. For instance, the S1S5 vertebrae of a horse will fuse, the S1S3 of a dog will fuse, and four pelvic vertebrae of a rat will fuse between the lumbar and the caudal vertebrae of its tail. The "Stegosaurus" dinosaur had a greatly enlarged neural canal in the sacrum, characterized as a "posterior brain case”. The sacrum is a complex structure providing support for the spine and accommodation for the spinal nerves. It also articulates with the hip bones. The sacrum has a base, an apex, and three surfaces – a pelvic, dorsal and
Sacrum κλόνις (Latinized "clonis"); this term is cognate to Latin "clunis" "buttock", Sanskrit "" "haunch" and Lithuanian "šlaunis" "hip, thigh". The Latin word is found in the alternative Latin name of the sacrum, "ossa clunium", as it were "bones of the buttocks". Due to the fact that the os sacrum is broad and thick at its upper end, the sacrum is alternatively called "os latum", "broad bone". In dogs the sacrum is formed by three fused vertebrae. The sacrum in the horse is made up of five fused vertebrae. In birds the sacral vertebrae are fused with the lumbar and some