86 ALFRED (IIBBS BOURNE. 



the posterior half an ovary. In this case no trace of Muller*s 

 duct (oviduct) was present on either side. 



Spengel comes to the conclusion that, as stated by Bidder, 

 this organ is not a '' rudimentary ovary," but is possibly 

 connected with the early stages of the spermatozoa. How 

 then are we to account for its appearance in the female ? 



In order to offer a definite opinion upon the subject it 

 would be necessary to trace the earliest stages of development 

 of this organ and also to ascertain if it undergoes any periodic 

 change in either sex. This, up to the present, I have been 

 unable to find leisure to do. 



I have, however, obtained sections of the organ in connection 

 with the testis in an adult male, Bufo cinereus, and figured 

 it (fig. 4) for comparison with the section of the ovotestis of 

 my specimen of Ran a temporaria (Fig. 3). It will be seen 

 from these figures that the two glands are similar, and that 

 it is probable that Jacobsen and Von Wittich were right in 

 regarding this organ in the toads as a rudimentary ovary in 

 the male. That it occurs in the female does not, I think, 

 necessarily militate against this view. An account of its 

 development here would be most interesting. 



2. Abnormalities of the Vertebral Column : 



Two cases of abnormal vertebral column have come under 

 my notice, both showing the same tendency, viz. an increase in 

 number of vertebrae. 



Case A, PI. IV, figs. 6 — 8. — The atlas possesses transverse 

 processes which run outwards and very slightly forwards, the 

 centrum is normally developed, but the neural arch is slightly 

 asymmetrical. Fig. 6 shows the dorsal aspect, fig. 7 the 

 ventral. 



In the axis the transverse processes are directed forwards 

 instead of backwards, and that of the left side presents an indi- 

 cation of bifurcation at the extremity. 



The third vertebra possesses two pairs of transverse processes 

 which are joined together for two thirds of their length. 



The fourth vertebra presents a transverse process which is 

 bifurcated at the extremity. 



