SEXUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE SKULL. 



193 



12 





.13 



31 30 29 



27 26 25 24 



FIG. 181. HORIZONTAL SECTION OF THE SKULL A LITTLE BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE 

 INFERIOR ORBITAL MARGIN. 



Canal for naso-lacrimal duct. 



2. Middle concha. 



3. Nasal septum. 



4. Middle meatus of nose. 



5. Naso-lacrimal duct. 



6. Infra-orbital canal. 



7. Opening into maxillary sinus from the middle 



meatus of tl^ nose. 



8. Eoof of maxillary sinus. 



9. Inferior orbital fissure. 



10. Passing through pterygo-maxillary fissure 



into pterygo - palatine fossa and ending 

 opposite opening of foramen rotundum. 



11. Infra- temporal crest of great wing of sphenoid. 



12. Zygomatic arch. 



13. Squamous part of temporal. 



14. Inferior surface of great wing of sphenoid. 



15. Cut pterygoid process. 



16. Tubevculum articulare. 



17. Foramen ovale. 



18. Mandibular fossa. 



19. Foramen spinosum. 



20. Spine of sphenoid. 



21. Petro-squamosal fissure. 



22. Opening of bony canal of auditory tube. 



23. Carotid canal. 



24. Upper opening of carotid canal (foramen 



lacerum). 



25. Anterior opening of pterygoid canal. 



26. Eoof of pterygo-palatine fossa just above 



spheno- palatine foramen. 



27. Superior concha. 



28. Superior meatus of the nose. 



29. Placed in position of spheno - palatine 



foramen. 



30. Placed in the pterygo-palatine fossa 



near the upper part of the pterygo- 

 maxillary fissure. 



31. Pterygoid canal laid open. 



SEXUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE SKULL. 



Whilst it is a matter of difficulty, in all cases, to determine with certainty the sex of 

 a skull, the following points of difference are usually fairly characteristic. The female skull 

 is, as a rule, smaller than the male. In point of cranial capacity it averages about a tenth 

 less than the male of corresponding race. Undue stress must not be laid on these facts, 

 since the female in bulk and stature measures on an average less than the male. It is 

 lighter, smoother as regards the development of its muscular ridges, and possesses less 

 prominent mastoid processes. In the frontal region, the superciliary arches are less pro- 

 nounced, and this imparts a thinness and sharpness to the upper orbital margin, which is 

 fairly characteristic, and can best be appreciated by running the finger along that edge of 

 bone. For the same reason, the forehead appears more vertical and the projections of the 



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