PELVIS. 



149 



there is much more proportionate pelvic ca- 

 pacity.* 



The dimensions of the pelvis of a Negress 

 of small stature, contained in Bonn's Museum 

 at Amsterdam, are given by Dr. Hull in his 

 Second Letter to Sivimonds, as follows: At the 

 brim, the conjugate diameter, 4f inches; the 

 transverse, 4^ ; the oblique, also 4-^ inches. 

 From the inner extremity of the superior 

 pubic ramus, to the sacro-iliac joint )f the 

 same side, 4i inches. At the outlet, the an- 

 tero-posterior diameter (measuring from the 

 apex of the sacrum) was, 4 inches; the 

 transverse, 3i inches. The breadth of the 

 sacrum was, 3\ inches, and the length the 

 same. The angle of the sub-pubic arch 

 measured only 6?'i. In this pelvis also, al- 

 though a female, the prevailing size of the 

 antero-posterior diameters, and the limited 

 breadth of the sacrum and transverse dia- 

 meter of the outlet, as well as the exceedingly 

 small expanse of the sub-pubic arch, are very 

 remarkable, and are hardly accordant with 

 easy labours, unless from the special adapt- 

 ation of the foetal head. 



Dr. Vrolik of Amsterdam, who devoted 

 much attention to this subject, remarks, that 

 the Negro male pelvis is contrasted widely 

 from the female of the same race, in being 

 strong, dense, and massy, while that of the 

 female is light and delicate in appearance, 

 although not presenting the transparent thin 

 parts that the pelvis of the European female 

 exhibits. But the Negro male pelvis given in 

 the table is remarkably light, slender, and well 

 formed for a man of so considerable a stature, 

 and the centres of the ilia very concave, and 

 as thin as in most pelves I have seen ; nor 

 are the ischial tuberosities at all dispropor- 

 tionately large nor turned out, nor the pos- 

 terior superior iliac spines elevated. Vrolik 

 points out also, as marks of degradation in 

 type in the Negro female pelvis, the vertical 

 direction of the ilia, their elevation at the 

 posterior superior spines, and the approxima- 

 tion of the anterior iliac spines to the cotyloid 

 cavity, together with the narrow transverse 

 and antero-posterior diameters, the anterior 

 sacral projection, the general elongation of the 

 pelvis, and the greater acuteness of the sub- 

 pubic angle. This author considers these pe- 

 culiarities to resemble the formation of the 

 pelvis in the Simice. But as far as I have 

 myself seen, there are very few characters 

 indeed, either in the Negro or Bushman pelvis, 

 which assimilate to those of the widely-dif- 

 ferent pelves of the Chimpanzee or Uran. 



* This opinion is given by Mr. White, in his 

 essay " On the Gradation of the Human Species," on 

 the authority of surgeons employed in the Guinea 

 trade ; but I am informed by Mr. Edwards, a sur- 

 geon who has seen much of the West Indian Creole 

 negroes, that difficult labours are, on the contrary, 

 very frequent among the females of these Creoles, 

 who are remarkable, like the males, for the thin- 

 ness and narrowness of their nanks, and for the 

 steady and easy walk which results from this 

 formation. And he informs me also, that dystochia 

 is not at all uufrequent even in the African ue- 

 gresses. 



From the structure of the female Bushman 

 pelvis, given by G. Cuvier, in Hist. Nat. des 

 Mammiferes, Dr. Vrolik draws the conclu- 

 sion, that it presents greater animality of 

 composition than even the Negro, as shown 

 in the extreme vertical direction, narrow- 

 ness, and height of the ilia, and the cylindrical 

 form of the whole pelvis. The height of the 

 ilia was much greater than in European 

 females, while the width between the anterior 

 iliac spines was less than even the smallest 

 Negro pelvis. The spines of the ischia were, 

 however, much wider apart, the sacrum more 

 curved vertically, and the thinness of the iliac 

 centres as little marked as in the Negro. The 

 sacrum projected much forward at the base, 

 and posteriorly was remarkable for the thick- 

 ness and tuberosity of the lateral parts, and 

 the posterior elevation of the coccygeal ar- 

 ticulation, which were supposed to be'for the 

 purpose of affording attachment to the large 

 gluteal masses of fat, characteristic of the 

 Bushman race. The thickness, breadth, and 

 posterior elevation of the ischial tuberosities, 

 the posterior inclination of the cotyloid ca- 

 vities, the prominence of the pubic symphysis, 

 and the greater sub-pubic angle, were also 

 remarked by Vrolik. 



In the pelvis of a male Bushman recently 

 added to the Hunterian Museum, I find the 

 iliac wings to be short, broad, not much 

 expanded, but considerably curved antero- 

 posteriorly ; with a crest arched, /-shaped, 

 and reaching as high as the middle of the 

 fourth lumbar vertebra. The centres of the 

 iliac wings are not thicker than is propor- 

 tional, and there is a well-formed and deep 

 internal concavity or venter. The pectincal 

 eminence is well marked, but the ischial 

 spines not so, and the ischial tuberosities are 

 small and slender. The sacrum is short, 

 much curved vertically, and elevated in- 

 feriorly, so as to project much behind, and 

 diverging widely from the ischia, giving a 

 wide and short appearance to the sacro-sciatic 

 notch. The posterior lateral parts of the 

 sacrum are not unusually thickened, but the 

 sacral_ spinous processes are well marked and 

 proportionally large, the two upper being very 

 distinct, and separated from the crest. The 

 shape of the brim is somewhat oblong and 

 inclined to the Negro type, as may be seen 

 from the measurements in the adjoining com- 

 parative table. The whole pelvis has a sym- 

 metrical, though a light, slender, and diminu- 

 tive aspect corresponding to the diminutive 

 stature of the individual. The breadth of 

 the sacrum is even less than in the Negro, 

 being exactly the same as the Uran-utan. 

 The distance between the ischial spines is, 

 however, greater, though that of the iscliial 

 tuberosities is less than in the Negro. 

 The pelvi-vertebral angle in this skeleton 

 seems to be less than usual, as far as one 

 may venture to a conclusion from a dried 

 skeleton. In a cast of a female Bojes- 

 man recently added to the King's College 

 Museum, however, the vulva seems to be 

 placed unusually far back, which may pro- 



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