86 THE STRUCTURE OF MAN 



as early as the eighth week of foetal life. The definitive 

 position (Fig 62) is, however, very gradually reached; for it is 

 a well-known fact that the mobility of the great toe is far more 

 marked in children at birth and in the earliest years of life than 

 in adult Europeans. 1 In certain races (e.g. the 



FIG. 61. SKELETON OF THE LEFT HAND, DORSAL ASPECT. 



c/., cuneiform ; lu., lunar ; mg., magnum ; pc., pisiform ; sc., scaphoid ; tp., 



trapezium ; tpz. , trapezoid ; un. , uneiform. I- V, digits. 



a considerable mobility is often retained throughout life ; and 

 the uses to which the great toe can be put fill a European with 

 astonishment. 



Balz, in his work on The Bodily Characteristics of the 

 Japanese, says : " The use made by the Japanese of the great 

 toe as a kind of thumb is very remarkable ; it can be independ-- 



1 The foot of a child which has not yet learnt to stand or walk is a particularly 

 interesting study. Not only are the toes capable of performing complex movements 

 (the great toe being even utilisable for grasping purposes), but the sole or plantar 

 surface of the foot, in its form and in certain of its furrows, resembles the palm of 

 the hand far more than later, when socks and shoes have exercised an influence 

 upon it. 



