Reply #3: Centaur anatomy, 2 hearts, 2 sets of lungs? [View All]

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I like the concept, but the human half has a lot of redundant organs.

In reality the skeleton would look slightly different. There would need to be some sort of bone at the junction of spines (human and horse) to protect the spinal cord at such a drastic bend. Probably a modified hip bone, invisible from the outside.

Two hearts would work, one specializing in the torso, brain and arms and the other working with the main body.

Two pairs of lungs might be a problem. a human nose might have a hard time breathing for both. A horse has huge nostrils. same with the digestive organs.

--mostly the human torso might be pure muscle and maybe internal fat/water storage.

Legends claim centaurs were omnivores, so they wouldn't need the huge belly horses and other omnivores have. They would lead to a more svelte, attractive to the human eye look.

My guess is the centaur would not be as large as a horse. It would still be stronger than a human.
On the down side it would eat a lot more just to support its bulk.
Still a centaur cavalry would be an awesome sight.