176 THE MYOLOGY OF THE RAVEN. 



cord -like dimensions, which passes through a special loop 

 to make its way between some of the muscles at the 

 hack of the leg, to become inserted on the tubercle in- 

 tended for it on the outer side of the superior moiety of 

 the shaft of the fibula. The loop of the biceps is flat 

 and fashioned like a delicate tendinous ribbon. Its 

 upper end arises from the side of the shaft of the femur 

 above the external condyle, while the lower end comes 

 off from this protuberance just below the insertion of 

 the outer slip of the external head of the gastrocnemius 

 muscle, A branch of the sciatic nerve also passes 

 through this loop in company with the tendon of the 

 hice2:)s. 



"The extensor femo)-is in readily divisible at its lower 

 half into two parts, the bulkier anterior one representing 

 the crurcBUs (Fig. 63 his), and the posterior division the 

 vastus externus. 



" As a whole, this powerful extensor of the leg upon 

 the thigh arises from the antero-external aspect of nearly 

 the entire length of the shaft of the femur, and from a 

 portion of the trochanter at its summit. At about its 

 lower fourth it terminates in a broad tendinous expan- 

 sion, which, as has already been described, is amply re- 

 enforced by the tendon of the gluteus 2)i'iuius, which is 

 situated on the upper side ; the combined tendon thus 

 formed surrounds closely the anterior aspect of the knee- 

 joint, and is finally inserted into the proximal end of 

 the tibia, upon its front and external margins. 



" The patella is found encased in front in this great 

 tendinous sheath of the knee-joint, and below the ajDex 

 of this sesamoid we find the enveloped track of the 

 tendon of the ambiens muscles, as it passes round in 

 front of the fcmoro- tibial articulation. The coml)ined 

 tendon of the extensor femoris is finally inserted into 



