177 



This view was further confirmed by arguments drawn from the 

 external circumstances of the Dialogue. 



November 24, 1856. 



An account was given by Professor Miller, of the restoration of the 

 Standard of Weight {vide Proceedings of Royal Society, vol. viii. 

 Nos. 21, 22). 



December 8, 1856. 



Mr. Humphry read a paper " On the relations of the Vertebrate 

 Skeleton to the Nervous System." 



He pointed out that the central parts, both of the skeleton 

 and of the nervous system, are composed of segments placed in 

 front of, or above one another : those of the former being called 

 "vertebra?," those of the latter "ganglia;" that the vertebrae 

 correspond with the ganglia, each vertebra having its appropriate 

 ganglion ; and further, that the processes, or nerves, emanating 

 from the central ganglionic portion of the nervous system corre- 

 spond with, and accompany the processes, or bones, appended to 

 the central portion of the skeleton, so that the bones appended to 

 any particular vertebra are generally accompanied by the nerves ema- 

 nating from the ganglion connected with that vertebra. Hence, 

 where a difficulty is found in referring a bone to its vertebra, assist- 

 ance may often be derived from a reference to the nerve or nerves 

 which accompany that bone. Following the guide thus indicated, 

 Mr. Humphry would refer the upper extremity, not to one — the 

 occipital — vertebra, according to the plan of Professor Owen, but to 

 several cervical vertebra?, forasmuch as it derives its nerves from a 

 considerable tract of the cervical portion of the cord. For the like 

 reason, the lower extremity may be regarded as appertaining to 

 several lumbar and sacral vertebras. The relations of the bones of 

 the face to their respective cranial vertebrae were pointed out in ac- 

 cordance with the distribution of the cerebral nerves. It was shown, 

 that although the size and shape of the skull are proportioned to the 

 size and shape of the brain, yet that, as a general rule, the thickness 

 and weight of the skull are in an inverse ratio to the size of the 

 brain. A comparison of the different nations of mankind proves, 

 moreover, that the size of the whole skeleton, as well as that of the 

 skull, is usually proportioned to the size of the brain ; a well-deve- 

 loped physique being the natural associate of an ample cerebrum. 



