90 THE MUSEUM OF THE vn 



be expected, the osteology of man is far more thoroughly 

 shown than that of any other species. The specimens of 

 human osteology (of which a revised catalogue, enumerating 

 1306 specimens, was published two years ago) begin by 

 illustrations of the development of the bones ; these are 

 followed by the normal skeleton, exhibited under various 

 aspects, then by individual variations, among which may be 

 mentioned one of the most remarkable objects in the museum, 

 the skeleton of the celebrated Irish giant, O'Brian, who died 

 in London in 1783, and about the preservation of whose 

 remains so many legends are told in the biographies of John 

 Hunter. Finally, the special osteology of man or illustrations 

 of the osteological characters of the various races of mankind. 

 In this important subject Hunter was a long way in advance 

 of most of his contemporaries, as the origin of his collection 

 dates almost, if not quite, as far back as that of the founder 

 of physical anthropology, the celebrated Blumenbach. The 

 series has been greatly augmented of late years, and completely 

 rearranged, and the splendid addition made to it last year by 

 the purchase of the great private collection of the late Dr. 

 Barnard Davis has brought it up in point of completeness to 

 truly national importance. 



As forming a transition from the department of normal 

 anatomy and physiology to that of pathology, may next be 

 mentioned the teratological series, or collection of congenital 

 malformations of man and the lower animals, which necessarily 

 forms part of every general biological museum. This difficult, 

 mysterious, and, as far as the light it throws upon the 

 workings of the laws of nature, still unsatisfactory subject, 

 had considerable attraction for Hunter, and many of the 

 specimens in the series form part of his museum. It has 

 been steadily, though not very rapidly increasing ever since, 

 and had the advantage, a few years ago, of being thoroughly 

 revised, rearranged, and catalogued by Mr. B. T. Lowne. It 

 is arranged in the upper gallery of the middle museum. 



The pathological series is the section of the museum to the 

 study of which, in the eyes of Hunter and his successors, all 

 the others form an introduction. It occupies the whole of 

 the two galleries and part of the ground-floor of the western 



