72 tHE HUMAN BODY. 



of which the vomer forms a portion. The superior turbinated 

 bones articulate with the maxillaries and contribute to mul- 

 tiply the nasal sinuses, in which are the ramifications of the 

 olfactory nerves. 



The inferior maxillary is at first composed of two bones, 

 which are early joined together at the point called the sym- 

 physis of the chin. The branches of this bone form a right 

 angle with its body, called the angle of the jaw> and at their 

 superior extremity they divide into two apophyses; namely, 

 the condyle, which articulates with the glenoid cavity of the 

 temporal bone, and the coronoid process, where the tendon 

 of the temporal muscle is inserted. This is one of the 

 muscles which draw the lower jaw to the upper one in chew- 

 ing the food. 



This skeleton, with its strange and imperfect outlines, this 

 type of Death, disappears under the muscles and teguments, 

 which cover it with an elegant envelope. The eyelids veil 

 the orbit and protect the eye, the watchful sentinel and inves- 

 tigator of the exernal world, the admirable instrument which 

 enables the brain to contemplate the works of creation and 

 to express its most vivid impressions. The nose covers the 

 organs of smell, while it completes them by protecting their 

 sensibility; the lips are placed before the mouth, and they 

 are at once an organ of prehension, a docile and indefatig- 

 able guard, a necessary instrument in articulating sounds, 

 and one of the most expressive of the features which com- 

 bine to form the physiognomy. The concha, or external 

 ear, surrounds the auditory canal, and serves to collect the 

 sonorous waves, and to give expression to the head. The 

 hair, the eyebrows, and eyelashes protect the skull and the 

 eye against external objects, and at the same time their dif- 

 ferent shades, and curves, and undulations, greatly contri- 

 bute to the beauty of the whole. Lastly, the skin of the 

 face is animated with the most delicate tints, or is clothed 

 in the vigorous tones and that admirable carnation which 

 has been so well rendered by the Venetian painters. 



