Re: Triceratops defence

[Philidor11@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/14/99 2:33:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
Z966341@wpo.cso.niu.edu writes:

<< In addition, the knee of all known dinosaurs (at least that I've seen and 
am aware of) did not have a patella to assist the quadruceps muscles 
inserting onto the tibia.  To compensate for this "loss of leverage," 
dinosaurs and other reptiles have developed a larger cnemial crest to keep a 
decent lever advantage for these leg-extending muscles.  The cnemial crest is 
sometimes called the tibial tuberosity,
and it is located just under the proximal portion of the tibia. >>

Does this help indicate the angle at which the front legs of triceratops were 
held?  If the leg is not straight and directly under the animal but splayed 
and at an angle, as I've seen it drawn, would all the weight of the head be 
put on a muscle or something else rather than straight onto the bone?  That 
seems like it could be painful as the animal got older.
Thanks!