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Muscles for flight: the sternum

Hwa Ja Götz (MfN)

Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
Berlin, Germany

The keel-shaped sternum (breastbone) is where the powerful flight muscles attach to the body. The size of the sternum and hence the breast muscles depend on various factors such as flight activity, technique and body mass. Flightless birds have a flat sternum. Physicists have calculated that humans would need a sternum that protrudes by 1.8 metres if they had to attach flight muscles.

Details

  • Title: Muscles for flight: the sternum
  • Creator: Hwa Ja Götz (MfN)
  • Physical Location: Museum für Naturkunde, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin
  • Rights: © Museum für Naturkunde. All rights reserved.

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