THE FACE. 13 



behind the soft palate, and turn it up towards the base of the 

 skull. You feel the strong grip of the superior constrictor. 

 Hooking the finger well forwards, you can feel the contour of 

 .the posterior nares. Their size depends upon the anterior, 

 but rarely exceeds a small inch in the vertical diameter, and 

 a small half-inch in the transverse. The plug for the posterior 

 nares should not be larger than this. Their plane is not 

 perpendicular, but slopes a little forwards. You can feel the 

 septum formed by the vomer, and also the posterior end of 

 the inferior spongy bone in each nostril. 



21. Tonsils. Before taking leave of the throat, look well 

 at the position of the tonsils between the anterior and pos- 

 terior half arches of the palate. In a healthy state they 

 should not project beyond the level of these arches. In all 

 operations upon the tonsils, we should remember the close 

 proximity of the internal carotid artery to their outer side. 

 Nothing intervenes but the pharyngeal aponeurosis, and the 

 superior constrictor of the pharynx. Hence the rule in 

 operating on the tonsils, always to keep the point of the knife 

 inwards. 



In troublesome haemorrhage from the tonsils, after an 

 incision or removal, it is well to know that they are accessible 

 to pressure if necessary by means of a padded stick, or even 

 a ringer. 



22. Features. A word or two on the lines of the face as 

 indicative of expression. Everyone pays unconscious homage 

 to the study of physiognomy when, scanning the features of 

 a stranger, he draws conclusions concerning his intelligence, 

 disposition, and character. Without discussing how much 

 physiognomy is really worth, there can be no doubt that it is 

 a mistake to place it in the same category as phrenology, 

 since the latter lacks that sound basis of physiology which no 

 one can deny to the former. 



A person fond of observing cannot fail to have arrived at 

 the conclusion that a man's daily calling moulds his features. 

 Place a soldier, a sailor, a compositor, and a clergyman side 

 by side, and who will not immediately detect a marked 

 difference in their physiognomies ? 



