ANATOMY. 



Having described the eight bones of the skull, 

 and shortly noticed tin- o^-.i Wormianu, or, as they 

 mre sometimes denominated, tin- Ossa Triquttra, 

 it may not be out of place to allude mbre particu- 

 larly to two remarkable openings in the connected 

 bones of the cranium at the base, before we enter 

 on a description of the bones of the face. These 

 openings are a foramen, already noticed, for the 

 entrance of the carotid artery, funned by an inter- 

 val between the sphenoid and temporal bones, 

 called the anterior Inccrutcd foramen, the other 

 between the temporal and occipital bones, the 

 rior lacerated foramen, or as in our description 

 of the occipital bones, the foramina lacera, &c. 

 Through this foramen the blood is poured from the 

 lateral sinus of the brain, into the jugular vein. 

 In the same locality, we may also observe the sev- 

 eral cavities for supporting the lobes of the brain, 

 but these astonishing structures, with the channels 

 for the sinuses, &c. will be better understood after 

 the reader or the student has become somewhat 

 familiar with the anatomy of the brain. While 

 alluding to these wonderful contrivances, with 

 which every professional man should be especially 

 familiar, we cannot omit this opportunity of re- 

 commending to the professional student two most 

 invaluable works on this part of the human frame, 

 viz. " Observations on the Surgical Anatomy of the 

 Head and Keck, by the late Allan Burns," and 

 " Illustrations of Surgical Anatomy, founded on the 

 work of M. Blandin, by J. G. M. Burt." These 

 books should find a place in the library of every 

 practical surgeon. 



BONES OF THE FACE. The bones of the face are, 

 with the exception of two, in pairs, and have been 

 estimated as consisting of those of the upper and 

 lower jaw. They are said, by some, to be united 

 by what is called sutures, and named according to 

 their connection with each other, but they are 

 connected rather by simple, irregular lines, or as 

 some of the older anatomists would say, by har- 

 mony, a term employed to denote a species of im- 

 movable connection of bones, in which their 

 edges fit accurately together. The upper jaw is 

 represented as formed of thirteen bones, viz., two 

 superior maxillary, two nasal, two palatine, two 

 malar, two inferior spongy, two lachrymal, and 

 the vomer, which are connected to the cranium, 

 and with one another, by harmony, or in the way 

 already described. The under jaw consists only 

 of one bone, and is the largest bone in the face. 



Beginning at the external angle of the orbit, 

 where the frontal bone is united to the cheek- 

 bone, there is a visible line, which leads to the infe- 

 rior opening in the orbit, proceeds upwards to the 

 nose, whose root it crosses, and then traverses the 

 other orbit to the external angle, and this line has 

 been called the transverse suture. The other har- 

 monies, or sutures of the face, are named after the 

 bones which they unite, as the zygomatic, nasal, 

 palatine harmonies, &c., and in shortly describing 

 each of these individual bones, it is a matter of 

 little consequence what arrangement is followed. 



Ossa Nasi, or Nasal bones. (No. 8. fig. 1.) These 

 bones form the bridge and external part of the 

 nose, and each is connected with its fellows and 

 the superior maxillary bone by harmony, and with 

 the frontal and ethmoid by the transverse su- 

 ture. Like most of their associates, these bones 

 are perfectly formed at birth : at that early period, 

 however, they are, like the other bones, soft and 

 yielding, and many savage tribes compress the nose 



immediately after birth, conceiving a broad nos9 

 conducive to beauty. 



The nasal bones are convex externally, thereby 

 giving greater resistance to violence from without, 

 and concave internally, to afford an ample cavity 

 for the nose at their middle part; each presents a 

 small foramen or hole, which passes through the 

 bone, and transmits blood vessels and nerves to 

 the pituitary membrane. There are two muscles 

 attached to the nasal bone ; the occipito frontitlia, 

 and compressor nan's. The ossa lachrymalia, or lach- 

 rr/inal lones, are not to be seen in either view of 

 tlie skeleton, but are two flat quadrangular bones, 

 somewhat resembling the nail of the finger, situ- 

 ated one in each orbit at the internal angle, 

 and separating the orbit from the nostrils. Each 

 bone is connected with the frontal ethmoid, superior 

 maxillary, and inferior spongy bone, by harmony. 

 The surface towards the eye is concave, mid has a 

 fossa or groove, in which the lachryn,;,! SMC i< sit- 

 uated. The internal surface is convex, and covers 

 some of the ethmoid cells, and part of the nos- 

 trils. These bones, like the ossa nasi, ,are com- 

 pletely formed at birth, and they assist in covering 

 the labyrinth of the nose, in forming the orbit, and 

 in affording a situation to the lachrymal sac. 

 Although the following more particular description 

 of this sac, and its uses, is not strictly osteological, 

 we offer no apology for noticing it in this place, as 

 it is not alluded to in the very excellent article on 

 the Eye, in the Encyclopedia. There is a small, 

 red, fleshy point, called the Puncta Lachrymalia, or 

 two small orifices, one of which is seen at the end 

 of each eyelid, near the nose. From these openings, 

 a canal goes downwards, and inwards, and meeting 

 about half an inch from their origin, forms a sac, 

 or lining, to the little cavity formed in the lachry- 

 mal bone, which is called the lachrymal sac, and 

 is continued downwards into the nose, and thus 

 conveys the tears from the inner corner of the 

 eye into the nose. There is, moreover, a hard 

 conglobate gland, of an oval form, called the 

 Lachrymal gland, which has a number of excretory 

 ducts, which convey the tears secreted by this 

 gland on the surface of the eye, and any super- 

 abundance of the tears are absorbed, or taken 

 up by the Puncta Lachrymalis, and conveyed 

 through the sac and canal above described, into 

 the nose, and pass off with the excretions of that or- 

 gan. The lachrymal bones are perforated obliquely 

 downwards, in the operation for fistula lachrymalis, 

 in order that the tears may be conveyed into the 

 nostrils, as by accumulating on the surface of the 

 eye that organ would be rendered comparatively 

 useless, from the great effusion of watery fluid on 

 its surface. This kind of fistula is likewise not 

 unfrequently followed by caries, or destruction of 

 the bone. It will therefore be apparent to every 

 reader, that these very small and obscure bones, 

 sometimes called the os unguis, are the locality of 

 very important organs in the human body. 



Ossa Malarum, or Cheek Bones (No. 7. fig. 1.) 

 These bones are sometimes called ossa jugalia, or 

 jugal bones, and by others ossa zygomatica. They 

 are united to the frontal, superior, maxillary, sphe- 

 noid, and temporal bone by sutures, and as every- 

 one knows, are situated at the sides of the face, 

 and are nearly of a quadrangular shape. Each of 

 these bones has five processes; an upper orbitary, 

 forming part of the orbit, and the sharp edge of 

 the temple ; inferior orbitary opposite to the for- 

 mer, and constituting, in part, the bottom of tie 



