THE SHOULDERS. 183 



to the passage of the child. In man the increased size of the 

 whole skeleton, and the greater development of the muscular 

 system, indicate that he was intended for more laborious exer- 

 tion than the female. 



The thorax and the shoulder are connected by a reciprocal 

 development, both being indicative, when large, of a robust and 

 vigorous constitution, and when small, of a weakly one. As 

 both of these parts are acted on by the same muscles, the ne- 

 cessity of this coincidence is sufficiently apparent The height 

 of the shoulder depends upon the scapula alone; its elevation, 

 therefore, is greater in males and in vigorous persons generally, 

 than in females and in weakly individuals. The direction of 

 the shoulder is such, that the articular face of the scapula for 

 the os humeri, looks outwards, thereby proving that the quad- 

 ruped position in man is unnatural; for by it, the weight of the 

 fore part of the trunk is directed upon the back part of the cap- 

 sular ligament of the joint instead of upon the glenoid cavity, 

 as in quadrupeds. This, and many other circumstances, prove 

 that the natural intention of the upper extremities in the human 

 subject, is to seize upon objects, and not to maintain the hori- 

 zontal position. 



Of the Shoulder Blade, (Scapula, Omoplate.) 



The Scapula is placed upon the posterior superior part of the 

 thorax, and extends from the second to the seventh rib inclu- 

 sively; its posterior edge is nearly parallel with the spinous pro- 

 cesses of the vertebrae, and not far from them. 



Its general form is triangular. It therefore presents two 

 faces, of which one is anterior, and the other posterior, three 

 edges, of which one is superior, another external, and the third 

 internal or posterior and three angles, of which one is supe- 

 rior, another inferior, and the third exterior or anterior. 



The posterior face of the scapula, or its dorsum, is somewhat 

 convex, when taken as a whole; and is unequally divided by its 

 spine into two surfaces or cavities, of which the lower is twice 

 or three times as large as the upper. The spine is a very large 

 process that begins at the posterior edge of the bone, by a smal 

 triangular face; rapidly increases in its elevation, and running 



