vii ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS 89 



remains, which, though at present most illogically arranged 

 in a distinct room apart from their existing allies, will soon 

 be incorporated in the general osteological series, where alone 

 they can find a reasonable position in an anatomical museum. 



The value of a collection is not to be estimated only by 

 the number of specimens it contains, nor by even their rarity 

 or judicious selection, but also by the condition of the 

 specimens, and the facility by which they may be made avail- 

 able for study and reference. On this head we claim to be 

 somewhat in advance of other museums, on account of the 

 improvements which have been made in late years in prepar- 

 ing and articulating entire skeletons, and in displaying portions 

 of the bony framework in an instructive manner. Formerly 

 all the bones were rigidly fixed together, so that their articular 

 surfaces, if not actually destroyed, were completely concealed ; 

 and no bone could possibly be removed and separately ex- 

 amined. The aim of a series of changes in the method of 

 mounting skeletons introduced here, and now adopted more 

 or less completely in many other museums (the details of 

 which were carried out with great skill by our late able 

 articulator, Mr. James Flower) has been to obviate all these 

 difficulties, and to make each bone, as far as possible, in- 

 dependent of all the rest, whilst preserving the general aspect 

 and form of the entire skeleton. 



Another improvement in the osteological series introduced 

 within the last twenty years has been the formation of a 

 special collection designed to show the principal modifications 

 of each individual element of the skeleton throughout the 

 vertebrate classes, by placing the homologous bones of a 

 number of different animals in juxtaposition. For convenience 

 of comparison, the specimens of this series are all placed in 

 corresponding positions, mounted on separate stands, and to 

 each is attached a label bearing the name of the bone and 

 the animal to which it belongs. This series is especially 

 instructive to the students of elementary osteology, and forms 

 an introduction to the general series. 



As in other departments of the museum, the more nearly 

 man is approached in structure, the more complete do the 

 illustrations of anatomical modification become, and, as might 



