CHAPTER III. 



THE EXTERNAL AND ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE OF 

 ANTHROPOID APES, COMPARED WITH THE HUMAN 

 STRUCTURE. 



In order to complete as far as possible the descrip- 

 tion which we propose to give of the general natural 

 history of these remarkable animals, it is necessary 

 to examine their anatomical structure. Yet it is 

 not so much our aim to give a detailed and 

 exhaustive description of their anatomy, as to 

 glance rapidly at those peculiarities of their inner 

 structure which catch the eye. It seems to me 

 expedient in this case to follow the method of 

 systematic and descriptive anatomy, and to take 

 the several natural organs in succession. This 

 method, which has long prevailed for studying the 

 structure of the human body, should also be our 

 guide in our researches in comparative anatomy. 

 Our readers need scarcely be told that the anatomy 

 of anthropoids is only a small branch of the com- 

 parative anatomy of vertebrate animals in general. 



I begin by considering the bony structure of 

 anthropoids, and, in particular, of the gorilla. And 



