NO. I 



TIIK IIYPOTROCIIANTKRIC FOSSA IIRDLICKA 



43 



The exceptional showing of the Cantonese, who were all males, 

 raises the question as to possible differences in the relations of the 

 fossa on the two sides in the two sexes. This query may best be 

 answered by our two largest and racially well distinct groups, the 

 U. S. Whites and the North American Indians : 



Hypotrochanteric Fossa According to Side in the Two Sexes 



The data, it is plain, do not indicate any material influence of 

 the sexes on the incidence or development of the fossa on the two 

 sides of the body, and the exceptional .showing of the Chinese cannot 

 therefore be attributed to sex alone. 



The only moderate general influence of sex and side on the hypo- 

 trochanteric fossa in man can only mean, it seems, that the feature 

 in the human species is a well ingrained old character. 



THE FOSSA IN THE AGED 



The extensive collection of the skeletal remains of known Whites 

 now in the United States National Museum permits of an inquiry 

 as to the effects of advancing age on the hypotrochanteric fossa. The 

 material selected for this test consisted of the paired femora of 100 

 males of 60 years and over. The results are instructive. There is 

 found a greater mean development of the gluteal ridge in these senile 

 bones than in the adults of lower ages, and a decidedly greater retro- 

 gression of the fossa. The latter will be clearly seen in the next table. 



Although the above general series includes many elderly individuals, 

 nevertheless the differences between it and the aged group is very 

 notable. The " absent " in the aged are over one third more numerous, 



