68 



BULLETIN OF THE ESSEX INSTITUTE. 



TABLE XIII. 



There are several interesting points brought out in this 

 comparative view. Perhaps the most striking one iis the 

 amount of difference for the two mean general averages. 

 Whether there is any significance in the fact that this 

 difference is greater in the figures for the females than in 

 the males I am unable to determine. 



Another interesting point is that the two sexes are 

 more nearly alike for the fifth lumbar than they are for 

 the first lumbar. That is, the amount of difference in 

 the curve for the normal spine and the senile spine is 

 greater at the upper part of the curve than it is at the 

 lower portion. The increased age shows itself especially 

 plain in the spine on the fifth lumbar, which no longer has 

 a distinct wedge-shape, as is shown by the average index 

 89 for the senile group, as contrasted with the index 83, 

 for the normal group. 



It is interesting to note also the marked decrease of 

 the total length of the lumbar region of the spine in the 



