THE BONES. 39 



of an oval figure, bounded by the two nasal and the two upper jaw- 

 bones, called upper and lower maxillary bones. Bounding the lower 

 and outer parts of the orbits are the two malar or cheek-bones, 

 making the prominences at the sides of the face, which are so 

 marked in the races of Celtic origin. At the inner sides of the 

 orbits are two little bones of the size and shape of the finger nail, 

 called the lachrymal bones, because they form the chief part of the 

 canal through which the tears find their way into the nose. Form- 

 ing the partition of the nose, is a bone resembling the ploughshare 

 in shape, whence its Latin name of vomer ; and in each side of the 

 nose is a spongy bone, for the purpose of extending the olfactory 

 surface. Finally, the lower jaw is a single bone, its dental arch 

 equalling in size that formed by the two upper jaw-bones, and 

 containing as many teeth. The fore part of the bone is the chin, 

 extending back from which, and gradually separating from each 

 other, are the sides, which terminate at the angles ; and from the 

 angles the branches rise nearly perpendicularly upwards to be 

 jointed to the sockets in the temporal bones, called condyles. 



Though composed of so many pieces, the whole head moves as 

 one mass on the top of the spine ; and the only motion that takes 

 place between its parts, is that of opening and closing the mouth. 

 This is done by the lower jaw dropping and being again lifted, 

 while the upper jaw remains unmoved. This holds good in all 

 beasts and birds ; it is only when we descend to the reptiles and 

 fishes that we find both jaws moving, as in the crocodile and the 

 shark. 



The orbits are two cavities placed in the face for containing the 

 eyes. Each orbit is of a conical figure, the apex being behind, 

 where the optic nerve enters it, and the base being in front ; and it 

 is much larger tha*ri is necessary for the size of the eye alone, this 

 delicate organ being cushioned on a quantity of soft fat, in order 

 that it may move with the greatest ease in every direction. The 

 inner walls of the orbits are parallel, while their outer walls diverge 

 widely from one another, to give the eyes the advantage of as wide 

 a range as possible. 



The lower extremities consist each of thirty bones. The femur 

 or thigh contains a single bone, the largest in the whole body. It 

 has a long shaft, from which a neck goes off above, at an oblique 

 angle, surmounted by a smooth globular head, covered with carti- 

 lage, which is received into the socket that has been described as 

 existing on the pelvis. Where the neck of the bone joins the shaft, 



