774 BEPORT— 1897. 



were in position and connected together by the dried intervertebral discs. This 

 condition is of course not so satisfactory, for the study of the spinal curves, as if 

 the specimen had been fresh, and with the discs retaining their natural flexibility 

 and elasticity. But it was quite obvious that the spine possessed an alternating 

 series of convex-concave curves from above downwards. The cervical and lumbar 

 convexities, more especially the latter, did not project so far forwards as in man, 

 and the dorsal concavity was not so deep. The most projecting part of the lumbar 

 convexity was at the junction of the bodies of the third and fourth lumbar verte- 

 brae and their intermediate disc. A vertical line drawn downwards from the most 

 prominent part of this convexity fell in front of the coccyx. When prolonged 

 upwards it passed in front of the bodies of the dorsal vertebrae, and intersected the 

 body of the sixth cervical vertebra, so that the bodies of the vertebrae, higher than 

 the sixth, were directed obliquely from below upwards and forwards in front of 

 the vertical line. 



The dried state of the discs did not enable one to determine precisely the 

 proportion in which they entered into the formation of the length of the column, 

 but the vertical diameter of the interlumbar and lumbo-sacral discs was obviously 

 not as great as in the human spine. On the other hand, the vertical diameter of 

 the bodies of the lumbar vertebrae was greater than in man, so that the length of 

 the lumbar spine, and possibly its degree of convexity, were due more to the bodies 

 of the vertebrae than to the elastic discs interposed between them. The Gorilla 

 corresponds with the Chimpanzee in having longer vertebral bodies and shorter 

 intervertebral discs than in man, 



"Without going into the question whether a lumbar convexity exists in the 

 tailed monkeys, the determination of which with precision is a matter of some 

 difficulty, it must be obvious that the presence of this convexity can no longer be 

 regarded as the exclusive prerogative of man. It undoubtedly forms an important 

 factor in the study of the erect attitude ; but in order that man should acquire and 

 be able to retain his distinctive posture, something more is necessary than the 

 possession of a spinal column with a curve in the lumbar region convex forwards. 



Our attention should now be directed to the lower limbs, more especially to 

 the two segments of the shaft, which we call thigh and leg. 



If we look at a quadruped we see that the thigh is bent on the trunk at 

 the hip joint, and that the leg is bent on the thigh at the knee joint ; whilst 

 the foot forms more or less of an angle with the leg, and the animal walks either 

 on the soles of its feet or on its toes. In the Anthropoid apes there is also distinct 

 flexure both of the hip and knee joints, so that the leg and thigh are set at an 

 angle to each other, and the foot is modified, through a special development of the 

 great toe, into an organ of prehension as well as of support. When we turn to 

 the human body we find that in standing erect the leg and thigh are not set at an 

 angle to each other, but that the leg is in line with and immediately below the 

 thigh, that both hip and knee joints are fully extended, so that the axis of the 

 shaft of the lower limb is practically continuous with the axis of the spine. The 

 foot is set at right angles to the leg, and the sole is in relation to the ground. The 

 vertical axis of the shaft of the lower limb, the extended condition of the hip 

 and knee joints, and the rectangular position of the foot to the leg are therefore 

 fundamental to the attainment of the erect attitude of man. 



In narratives of travel by those who have studied the Penguins in their native 

 habitats, you may read that these birds may be seen standing on the rocks on the 

 coasts which they frequent, in rows, like regiments of soldiers, and the idea has become 

 implanted in the minds of many that they can stand erect. Even so accomplished 

 a writer and acute a critic as the late Mr. G. H. Lewes thought that the Penguins 

 had the vertical attitude when standing, and that some mammals, as the Jerboa 

 and Kangaroo, very closely approached to it. The attitude of man was, he con- 

 sidered, merely a question of degree, and did not express a cardinal distinction.^ 



In arriving at this conclusion, however, only the external appearance of the 

 birds and mammals referred to by him can have been looked at. If the skin and 



* Aristotle, A Chapter from the History of Science, p. 309, London, 18G4. 



