Keel (anatomy)

A keel (or in Latin carina), in anatomy, is a structure whose shape resembles the keel of a boat. The term may refer to:

Animal anatomy

• Keel (bird anatomy), a perpendicular extension of a bird's breastbone, to which wing muscles anchor
• Keel (slug), a morphological feature on the back of some land slugs which resembles the keel of an upturned boat
• Keel in a gastropod shell, a sharp ridge or edge at the shoulder or the center of periphery of the whorls of a snail shell
• The caudal keel in fish anatomy, a strengthening ridge at the base of the tail
• Keeled scales, reptile scales that have a ridge down the center, rather than being smooth

Human anatomy

• Carina of trachea
• Sagittal keel, a feature of the skull

Plant anatomy

• Keel (petal), the two bottom petals, below the wings, in flowers of the subfamily Faboideae of the flowering plant family Fabaceae; sometimes joined to form a structure whose shape resembles the keel of a boat

See also

• Keel (disambiguation)
• Carina (disambiguation)