WORK OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL STATION AT TARIS. 409 



tion is correct; the difference in the leiigtli of tUe calcaiieiim in the two 

 races is enormous, the ratio being as 7 is to 5. 



The constant examination of the physiohigical rehitions existing 

 between the form of the h)comotor organs and the type of locomotion 

 in the different species of animals is tlie directing idea of the studies 

 that are pursued at the Tliysiological Station. Tliere is no doubt that 

 every advance in our knowledge of the movements of locomotion will 

 bring out more clearly the perfect harmony that exists between an 

 organ and its function. 



VI. 



I have tried to show by examples the happy effect of a union between 

 comparative anatomy and physiology. Anatomy alone may reveal cer- 

 tain unexplained relations between organs — the law of the subordina- 

 tion (»f characters is of this nature — but the law of harmony between 

 organs and their functions is deduced from accpiaintance with the 

 physiological activities of each part of the body; it does not content 

 itself with simply stating the fact, but explains it, and thus completely 

 satisfies the mind. 



This is not yet all. Naturalists have always sought to ascertain how 

 the conformity between an organ and its functions is actually brought 

 about. From this research originated the doctrine of final causes 

 which has, in our days, been replaced by more satisfactory hypotheses 

 tending to show that the different types of animals have been evolved 

 during the iirogress of ages by the action of forces effecting a closer and 

 closer adaptation to the varying conditions in which they are placed. 

 This is the doctrine of transformism or evolution. 



But how shall we explain, in its turn, this evolution by the action of 

 natural forces? Certain zoologists, like Buftbn and Lamarck, admit 

 that exterior influences may, in a more or less direct way, induce modi- 

 fications of organs; others, such as Darwin and Wallace, hold that 

 certain variations are transmitted by heredity when their effect is such 

 as to better adapt the beings that possess them for living in the condi- 

 tions in which they are placed, and to better fit them to resist agencies 

 that cause their destruction. 



Twenty years ago, in discussing these two hypotheses,' I ventured to 

 hope that experimentation might decide this question, or at least assign 

 an equitable part to the different factors of ev^olution. The eminent 

 surgeon, J. Guerin, struck at seeing, after luxations, a tendency to the 

 formation of a new joint with cartilages, synovial membrane, and liga- 

 ments, said " Function makes the organ." This aphorism exj^resses 

 the ideas of Lamarck and Buffon; certain pathological cases amount, 

 indeed, to actual experiments, and show that, in a living being, mechan- 

 ical forces may bring about an a<laptation of organs resulting in a 

 change in their functions. 



' La Machine Auimale, page 105. 



