Anatomy and Physiology: Mink and Human Muscle Similarities

(This picture was from: http://uscunion.sc.edu/biology/Dissections/MinkMuscArm2L.jpg.)

Note the similarities in the structure of the mink and human arm muscles.  (This picture was from: http://anatomyeshs.wikispaces.com/Ch.8+Muscular+System.)

During the mink dissection, I saw that many of the muscles on the mink had the same shapes as their human counterparts.  For example, when we identified some of the muscles in the leg, the mink had the muscles biceps femoris, sartorius, gastrocnemius, adductor longus and femoris, semitendinosus, etc.  All of these muscles are in the human leg.  They are also similar in shape.  For instance, the biceps femoris in the mink and the human are pennate muscles, or muscle that attaches at a oblique angle to its tendon.  The thing that surprised me most about the mink was the numerous similarities in muscle structure and function.  It reminded me of the evidence that was used by evolutionists to back up Charles Darwin's theory of evolution; one of the evidence was similarities in bone and muscle structure.