380 HISTORY OF 



each side of the spine ; and even the fingers and 

 toes scarcely exceed hairs in thickness. 



In a month the embryo is an inch long ; the 

 body is bent forward, a situation which it almost 

 always assumes in the womb, either because a 

 posture of this kind is the most easy, or because 

 it takes up the least room. The human figure is 

 now no longer doubtful : every part of the face 

 is distinguishable ; the body is sketched out ; 

 the bowels are to be distinguished as threads j 

 the bones are still quite soft, but in some places 

 beginning to assume a greater rigidity ; the blood- 

 vessels that go to the placenta, which, as was said, 

 contributes to the child's nourishment, are plainly 

 seen issuing from the navel (being therefore called 

 the umbilical vessels), and going to spread them- 

 selves upon the placenta. According to Hippo- 

 crates, the male embryo developes sooner than 

 the female : he adds, that at the end of thirty days 

 the parts of the body of the male are distinguish- 

 able, while those of the female are not equally 

 so till ten days after. 



In six weeks, the embryo is grown two inches 

 long; the human figure begins to grow every 

 day more perfect; the head being still much 

 larger, in proportion to the rest of the body ; and 

 the motion of the heart is perceived almost by the 

 eye. It has been seen to beat in an embryo of 

 fifty days old, a long time after it had been taken 

 out of the womb. 



In two months, the embryo is more than two 

 inches in length. The ossification is perceivable 

 in the arms and thighs, and in the point of the 



