218 THE MY0L0(;Y OF THE RAVEN. 



and finally from a longitudinal line extending obliquely 

 down tlie front of tlie shaft of tlie tibia to its lower third. 

 This oljliquity finally brings the tendon in wdiich the 

 extensor long us d ig itorum tenoninates, to the middle line. 



" Just above the condyles of the tibia, it here passes 

 through the little bony bridge ; emerging from which it 

 crosses the ankle-joint in front, then passes down the 

 anterior aspect of the tarso-metatarsus bone, overlying 

 the short extensor. At the upper end of this last-named 

 bone, and over the ankle-joint, this tendon is firmly 

 bound down by a fibrous fascia. In some birds we know 

 a special bony span exists for it on the upper part of the 

 tarso-metatarsus, as in certain Owds. When the terdon 

 of this muscle arrives at the anterior aspect of the trochleaB 

 of the distal end of the tarso-metatarsus, it expands and 

 bifurcates. The tendinous expansion becomes more or less 

 attached to the underlying tissues, while each bifi^rcation 

 passes one over the second, and the other over lhe third 

 toe, for their entire lengths, to become insertec' into the 

 upper points of their ungual phalanges. 



" Now from the side of the tendon that o^oes :o the third 

 toe another slip is diff"crentiated ofi" in a V3ry peculiar 

 manner, owing to the reversion of the toe in question. 

 For it not only passes over the top lengtl for insertion 

 of this fourth digit, as in the case of the others, but its 

 slip also splits ofi" to make a separate insertion at the 

 extremity of the basal phalanx of th« third digit. I 

 have had the opportunity of dissectine three feet, with 

 the view of studying this point, and ^ find it to obtain 

 in all of them." 



114. Tlie extensor hallucis hrevu^ is an exceedingly 



^ As I read the above account I h.a e given of the extensor 

 hallucis hrevis, I am convinced that I \y&> compelled to so name it 

 myself for our Raven ; and the literaure of the subject was at 

 that time not available to me, and I 'Jis not aware that it had 



