Fig. 6.

“Bulldog-type” brachycephaly and its relation to the postcranial skeleton. Although brachycephaly most conspicuously concerns the facial part of the cranium (green) and the mandible (yellow), it may also be correlated with shape variation of the vertebrae (purple, red; note that the brachycephalic dog exhibits a vertebral malformation), scapula (pink), pelvis (olive), and the long bones of the limbs (femur, blue). Most of these bones are stouter in the brachycephalic than in the non-brachycephalic varieties/breeds. Genetic and developmental processes affecting head shape in “bulldog-type” brachycephaly thus also affect the postcranial skeleton to a greater or lesser degree.