Keel (anatomy)

Animal anatomy

• Keel, a perpendicular extension of a bird's breastbone, to which wing muscles anchor
• Keel, 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, 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