Vice-President's Address. 17 



animals. lu fact, the study of Anthropometry is the study 

 of an evolution from lower to higher forms. While this is 

 the case as regards the mere linear proportions of bones, 

 other characters less easily recorded may be seen. Some of 

 these indicate the introduction of features peculiar to man ; 

 while others, again, occur but rarely, and are spoken of as 

 " rudiments," because they repeat historical conditions which, 

 although characteristic of lower animals, have ceased to be 

 constant or normal features in man. A few examples of 

 these two kinds of evidence may now be given. 



Upper Limb — Humerus. — The occasional appearance of a 

 supra-trochlear process upon the shaft of the humerus, and 

 its significance, are now so well known through the writings 

 of the late Sir John Struthers and those of Sir Wm. Turner, 

 K.C.B., that it may be regarded as a classic historic rudi- 

 ment. 



Of equally great importance, but not so much studied be- 

 cause of difficulties connected with the means of recording 

 it, is the position of the head of the humerus in relation to 

 its shaft. 



At first sight it appears as if the head of the humerus 

 were attached to the shaft through the intervention of an 

 extremely short neck. If, however, a section be made, it is 

 found that the neck is prolonged into the head as a conical 

 projection, and that the part described as the neck is merely 

 the exposed portion of this segment. The head is placed 

 upon the neck, so that its major axis makes an angle with 

 the transverse diameter of the trochlear end of the humerus. 

 This is called the angle of torsion. Among the lower animals 

 the articular surface of the humeral head is turned in the 

 same direction as the olecranon fossa, and hence the 

 torsion represents an angle of 90°. With the freeing of the 

 upper limbs from purposes of locomotion, as in the anthro- 

 poids and man, there has arisen a gradual diminution of the 

 angle of torsion, until among Europeans the major axis of 

 the humeral head is almost parallel to the corresponding 

 axis of the condylar end. There seems no reason to doubt 

 that we have here a race-character of considerable value. 



The relative proportions between the humerus and radius, 



VOL. XV. B 



