63 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



[Feb. 2, 1883. 



verlehra- peculiarly niodifiod for their special position and 

 functions. But we now know that the skull is developed 

 in ft diticrent fashio^ from the spine ; and that in its nature, 

 it bears no such relationship to the backbone as that indi- 

 cated above. We can divide any skull into (1) the cranial 

 jiarl, or " brain case ; " and (2) the face pari. In the 

 humaii skull, which is a simple affair as compared with, 

 say, tho skull of a cod or crocodile, there are twenty-two 

 bonea Plight of these form the brain-pan, and fourteen are 

 found in th'o face. Firmly united together by dovetailing 



or sulurci, as the lines of union of the bones are called — 



the whole skull forms a beautifully firm case. The eight 

 bones of the rranium are named as follows : — (1) the occi- 

 ^i7«/ (hinder bone of the head) ; (2 and 3) pari>-Jah, or side 

 bones ; (4 and •')) temporals ; (G) sphenoid (in the middle 

 of the aoor) ; (7) the frontal (or forehead bone) ; (S) the 

 ,'lhmoid bone (front of the floor of the skull). 



EAR OPENING 



The face, with its fourteen bones, is constructed as 

 follows: — (I and 2) the lachrymals (forming part of the 

 eye-cavities) ; (3 and 4) the upper jaw bones (united to 

 form a single bone) ; (5 and 6) the vialars, or cheek bones ; 

 (7 and 8) the nasals, or nose bones ; (9 and 10) the palate 

 bones; (11 and 12) the inferior turhinal bones (placed in 

 the outer walls of the nose-cavities) ; (13) the vomer, or 

 "ploughshare " bone (in the middle of the nose) ; (14) the 

 lower jaw. 



It is a decidedly human character to find, as we do in man, 

 that the brainoverhangs the face. In lower animals, and even 

 in the most manlike apes, the brain retreats, and the face 

 projects. In lower races of man there is a forward projec- 

 tion of the face, which is wanting in higher races. The 

 lower types are therefore said to have prognathous (for- 

 ward jawed) skulls, whilst the higher races have ortho- 

 gnathoiis (or straight-jawed) skulls. The skull-openings 

 are numerous. At the back of the base or floor, we 

 see a very large hole in the occipital bone, called 

 the foramen magniim. Through this aperture the >)rain 

 and spinal cord become continuous. Then we find the 

 ear-openings in the t-emporal bones, and the ear itself 

 enclosed within tho substance of these bones. The nostrils 

 and eyes are also in pairs, and many openings exist for the 

 passage of nerves from the brain outwards to the face and 

 head at large. 



In our next paper we shall conclude our review of the 

 trunk, and also consider the skeleton of the limbs. 



K few copies of Knowledge, Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 

 12, are for sale, iirico, poet free, 6d. each. Apply or address, the 

 Pnblishors, 75, Gt. Qneon-etrcet, London, W.C. 



OPTICAL EFFECTS OF BELLADONNA. 



By T. W. Webd. 



THE following details of an experiment made by myself 

 in 1 870 may possibly be considered of sufficient in- 

 terest to appear in the pages of Knowledge. They are 

 copied from rough memoranda taken at the time : — 



It should be premised that I am near sight^-d : the most 

 perfect vision with my right eye (the better of the two) l>eing 

 attained (at that date) at eight or nine inches distance, but 

 so far astigmatic as to be a trifle sharpened by the slightest 

 possible pressure on the upper part of the ball. Into the 

 other eye, which had less perfect definition, but a focus 

 about one inch longer, on Oct. 0, towards night, I intro- 

 duced a drop of the preparation of Belladonna known as 

 " atropine." No effect was perceptiVjle for ten minutes ; 

 after that time the pupil began to expand elliptically, and 

 a candle was bordered by coloured fringes, brownish red, I 

 believe, and blue. Before going to sleep I noticed with 

 surprise that a faintly-lighted portion of the wall of my 

 room seemed darker with that than with the other eye. 

 Next morning the effect was fully attained. There was no 

 pain or discomfort beyond a sensation as though my two 

 eyes belonged to different people. Examination in the 

 middle of the day showed that the pupil was elliptically 

 enlarged to about four times the size of the other in one 

 direction, three times in the opposite, the longer axis lying 

 at about 20^, with a somewhat pear-shaped outline, 

 narrowest towards the bottom ; and perfectly clear. The 

 focus was but little, if at all, changed ; but vision was not 

 sharp, and incapable of improvement by either of two con- 

 cave lenses suited to differentdistances. Objects very near the 

 eye are elongated; a circular ink-spot is lengthened towards 

 40°, and if very near acquires a bright orange interior ; ink 

 lines in any position are doubled, with an orange space 

 between them ; at ten or eleven inches the two images 

 coalesce, and vision in a half-light is nearly normal, but 

 still there is a kind of glare ; and black writing appears 

 rather blue. Further off the indistinctness increases ; 

 luminous objects are encompassed with puzzling rays ; and 

 a lady's chain in the light on a dark background is attended 

 by three or four faint and indistinct images on either side. 

 The general effect is that of a misty glare. Achromatism 

 is also deranged in various ways. Near the eye white 

 objects on a dark ground have an orange border, which at 

 and beyond distinct vision changes to a nebulous blue tint; 

 at greater distances becoming less marked or evanescent. 

 White bodies do not seem to be reddened, but, especially in 

 a strong light, every ruddy tint is deepened ; the hands in 

 particular acquire a pinker hue, the brown and yellow 

 leaves of autumn become much redder, and scarlet geranium 

 blossoms appear crimson. Blue, as of china, is paler, but 

 not altered in tone. The general aspect of the landscape is 

 not much affected excepting by haziness ; in a moderate 

 light objects seem to gain little, if at all, in brightness ; it 

 is otherwise with a glaring view, as of white clouds, or the 

 landscape beneath the sun ; but the increase of brightness 

 is by no means in proportion to that of aperture. All 

 dark objects seem viewed through a light nebulous mist. 

 The other eye continued unaffected. In the evening there 

 was some improvement ; a candle near the eye is fuzzy ; 

 further away it is surrounded with an elliptic halo, blue 

 within, brownish red without, enlarging with increasing 

 distance, and not very symmetrical. Oct. 7. The pupil has 

 rather diminished, but there is not much difference in the 

 glare or false colouring, which, however, is now imper- 

 ceptible in twilight or candlelight. All shadows are still 

 grey rather than black. Oct 8. Pupil .still very elliptic 

 and about three times too broad ; the general mist and the 



