INTRODUCTION 



It would be difficult to mention a single phase of the manifold 

 expressions that belong to disease in which the study of the face 

 and brain cannot enter ; but to the laryngologist and to the neurolo- 

 gist many portions of the head must be of especial interest. The 

 laryngologist can examine the mouth, nose, and the pharynx ; the 

 neurologist the surfaces of the crown, which afford him guides to 

 the peculiarities of the interior of the skull. Since much which 

 pertains to both of these branches of medicine is of comparatively 

 recent growth, a study of the osteology of the head cannot fail at 

 the present time to be useful. 



An accurate impression of the superficial characters of the skull 

 can be received from examination of the living subject. Reliance 

 must be made upon these characters in fixing the relations of the 

 soft parts; hence the ranges of variation in these characters 

 should be known, and as full a knowledge as possible be obtained 

 by study of the cranium. In the paper herewith submitted an at- 

 tempt is made to treat of these relations and ranges of variation. 

 The author's interest, at first, was confined to the diseased conditions 

 of the facial region and of the vault of the pharynx, but the interest 

 gradually widened and soon embraced the normal anatomy of the 

 entire head. 



The method recommended by him is as follows : First, to study 

 carefully a character as detected in the living subject, then to exam- 

 ine all crania available and endeavor to ascertain in what guise the 

 same structure may re-appear, and subsequently to formulate such 

 descriptions as can be deduced from the data ; second, to bring 

 together the material gleaned while examining crania, which ap- 

 pears to be of interest, to illustrate the nutritive processes at work 



