VERTEBRATES. 



character in all vertebrates. This system as it appears 



in Man, the highest vertebrate, is shown in Fig. 22. 



Besides the brain 



and spinal cord, the 



skeleton protects the 



organs for breathing, 



digestion, and other 



organs peculiar to 



animals. 



As the brain and 

 spinal cord are alike 

 in their position and 

 general outlines in 

 all vertebrates, only 

 differing in extent 

 and in degrees of 

 perfection, so also 

 are the skeletons of 

 all vertebrates alike 

 in their principal 

 features. The back- 

 bone of one, in its 

 position and general 

 outlines, corresponds 

 to that of all the 

 others ; so with the 

 head, the neck, and 

 limbs. The arm of 

 Man, the arm of a 

 Monkey, the wing 

 of a Bat, the leg of a Mole, the leg of a Dog, the paddle 

 of a Seal, the leg of a Sheep, the paddle of a Whale, 

 the wing of a Bird, the leg of a Turtle, and the fin of a 



Fig. 22. Nervous System of the highest 

 Vertebrate Man. 



a, principal brain, called the hemispheres 5 ft, 

 smaller brain ; c, spinal cord giving off its branches 

 of nerves. 



