422 MR F, G. PARSONS. 



On examining col. 1 we get some idea of the number of 

 notches which are found on the anterior border. Out of the 

 113 specimens, 8 (7%) have no notches at all, 30 (27%) have one 

 notch, 37 (33%) have two, 18 (16%) have three, 9 (8%) have 

 four, 5 (nearly 5%) have five, 4 (nearly 4%) have six, while only 

 one specimen was found with as many as seven notches. It 

 therefore seems that two notches is the commonest arrangement, 

 and, after that, the larger the number of notches, the rarer will 

 the specimen be. Another point which struck me was that the 

 notches on the spleens of young subjects are usually smaller in 

 proportion than in those of adults ; this fact has been called 

 attention to in the column and, I think, is important. It will be 

 necessary to examine three columns to get an idea of the frequency 

 of notches on the posterior border ; col. 2 gives simple notches, 

 col. 3 notches combined with a fissvire, while if that fissure forms 

 a notch on the anterior border as well, it is recorded in col. 6. 

 On referring to these three columns we find that out of 113 spleens 

 37 (32%) showed notches on the posterior border. This large 

 percentage caused me a good deal of surprise, as I had always 

 thought that notches on the posterior border were very rare. 



On referrincj to cols. 3 and 6 it will be seen that, of these 37 

 specimens, 18, or practically half, had the notches continued 

 into fissures on the parietal surface. These fissures are very 

 constant in their position and direction and run from the 

 posterior border obliquely upward and forward when the long 

 axis of the spleen is held vertically ; when the spleen is in its 

 normal position, however, they are themselves nearly vertical 

 (see figs. 1, 2 and 3). 



Four columns are devoted to these fissures ; in col. 3 they 

 form a notch on the posterior border only (see fig. 1), in col. 4 

 they do not reach either border (see fig. 2), in col 5 they form 

 a notch on the anterior border only, while in col. G they reach 

 both borders (see fig. 3). To ascertain the total frequency of 

 the appearance of these fissures, cols. 3 to 6 must be added 

 together, and we then find that out of the 113 spleens, 23 (20 %) 

 showed some trace of a fissure on the parietal surface. Of 

 these by far the most numerous are fissures which form a notch 

 on the posterior border only, but a few stretch right across, 

 while an equal number form a notch only on the anterior 



