278 Messrs Cheek and Jones on the Anatomy of the Lion. 



tendon inserted into the last phalanx of the toe ; c c c indicate 

 two lateral elastic ligaments, which are, however, sometimes 

 condensed into one ; h is the proper retracting ligament of the 

 claw.* 



We have said that the claws are retracted, so that the points 

 are hidden in the hair ; but for this purpose it is evident that 

 the heel of the claw must attain a lower level than that which it 

 possesses in the extended state ; and we find this effected by 

 the last phalanx, to which this nail is attached, being articulated 

 to a tubercle on the outside, and not absolutely to the extre- 

 mity, of the second phalanx, as in other animals. 



In the thumb, or internal finger of the forefoot, the last 

 phalanx is directly articulated to the extremity of the preceding 

 bone, and is consequently incapable of that degree of retraction 

 which is possessed by the other claws, and which would indeed 

 be unnecessary in this toe from its being placed at a sufficient 

 distance from the ground to prevent attrition.-]- In this case 

 what we have called the proper retracting ligament is not pre- 

 sent, but two lateral ligaments may be said to combine its 

 disposition with that of the lateral ligaments of the other toes. 



Fig. 2. 



In fig. 2. a represents the extensor tendon ; c c the two lateral 

 elastic ligaments of the thumb extended. 



The nails are inserted into the last phalanx by a peculiar kind 

 of double articulation, of which Perrault has given a bad repre- 

 sentation ; the bone and the nail are dovetailed into each other 

 by means of processes and fissures. As the nails do not continue 

 to grow, from not being so much worn as in other animals, the 

 layer of the skin underneath them is of inferior vascularity, and 

 almost entirely converted into periosteum. 



We have now terminated our notices of the organs of relation, 

 and proceed to the consideration of the organs of the nutritive 

 functions. 



• This ligament, when fully extended, is one and three-eighths inch long, but 

 when contracted, measures only half an inch in length. 



f Perrault is, however, incorrect in saying that the peculiar structure of the toes 

 does not obtain in the thumb, which, he states, is only flexed forwards, or, in other 

 words, is not capable of any retraction. 



