250 
Nachdruck verboten. 
On the Disposition of the Epidermic Folds upon the Palms and 
Soles of Primates. 
By Dr. Hareıs H. Wırpre. 
With 7 Figures, 
The varied patterns of whorls and loops found upon the volar 
surfaces of the human hand and foot have long attracted attention, 
and seem of late to have become of especial importance to anthropo- 
logists. The recent remarkable series of works by Francis GALTON !), 
who points out the enormous practical use of the patterns at the 
balls of the terminal phalanges, employing them in recording criminals 
and in all cases where exact personal identity is desired, has given 
great prominence to certain of these markings. Previous to GALTON’s 
work the epidermic folds had received some little attention. ALıx ?) in 
1867 mentions the “lignes papillaires de la main et du pied”, but 
fails to give a careful description of them. His description is but 
little more detailed than that of MArpıcHı ?) whose words he quotes: 
“Extremum digiti lustro apicem et innumeras illas rugas in gyrum 
vel in spiras ductas contemplor.” All of these authors seem to have 
especially studied the markings upon the volar surface of the terminal 
phalanges, the “torus tactus digitalis” of ALıx, and have said 
little or nothing concerning similar fold-centres found upon the meta- 
carpal region or upon the other phalanges. Nearly all of the work, 
also, seems to have been done upon the hand, with slight attention 
paid to the markings upon the foot. Comparison with other Primates 
seems also to be lacking, as well as speculation concerning the origin 
of these remarkable formations. In other words, this subject, which 
has been so thoroughly discussed from the standpoint of anthropology, 
seems a new and interesting field for the morphologist. The following 
questions, therefore, present themselves, to the study of which this 
paper will be devoted. 
1) A series of books published in recent years by Macmillan, London. 
2) Recherches sur la disposition des lignes papillaires de la main et 
du pied. Ann. des sci. nat., T. 8, 1867. 
3) De externo tactus organo exercitatio epistolica ad Jacobum Ruffium. 
