390 Mr. J. Wood Varieties in Human Myology. [June 15, 



only to the middle and ungual phalanges. On the other foot no ab- 

 normal muscle, but a similar blending of the tendons of the little toe was 

 found. 



Attention having been drawn by Mr. Huxley to the importance of as- 

 certaining the arrangement of the interossei muscles in the hand and foot, 

 and especially the usual or most frequent manner of insertion in the 

 toes in the human subject, the author has carefully examined these 

 muscles in a considerable number of subjects. It was found that in 

 the hand, although the origin of these muscles is usually such as de- 

 scribed in anatomical works, viz. of the dorsal by a double penniform 

 arrangement from the adjacent metacarpals, and of the palmar by a single 

 penniform origin from the metacarpal of its own digit, yet iu several cases 

 the so-called first palmar interosseus, viz. that of the index, had a bi- 

 penniform origin from both second and third metacarpals, exactly as that 

 on the corresponding side of the same digit in the foot. This abnor- 

 mality is sketched in fig. 7 . The dorsal interosseus of the same 

 space covers it by its double penniform origin (one portion of which is repre- 

 sented divided in the sketch). 



Fig. 6. 



Fig. 7. 



Both the muscles are perforated by the arterial branch of communication 

 from the dorsum to the palm. In this hand is also well seen the palmar 



