Pebruakt 19, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



289 



■cavity in this dinosaur is quite extensive and 

 corresponds in position to the human sphe- 

 noidal sinus and resembles this structure in 

 some of its complications such as are occa- 

 sionally found in man. The structure seems 

 to occupy portions of both the basisphenoid 

 and the basioccipital and to extend a consid- 

 erable distance toward the occipital condyle. 

 There are five, possibly six, saccular divisions 

 of the sphenoidal sinus (recessus basisphe- 

 noidalis). These divisions recall the saccular 

 divisions of the sphenoidal and frontal sinuses 

 of man and from their smooth vcalls one 

 would expect to find a membranous lining as 

 in man. So far as I am aware this cavity has 

 no connection with the nasal cavity, although 

 such a connection may be demonstrated from 

 additional or from a restudy of present mate- 

 rial. The recess lies below and between the 

 points of exit of the third and twelfth 

 cranial nerves, the mass of the brain being 

 immediately above it. Several authors have 

 observed a similar depression in the sphenoidal 

 region of the Labyrinthodont skull and in 

 other primitive vertebrates, notably the early 

 reptiles. It is a well known fact that the 

 hypophysis and particularly the posterior 

 portion of this structure is, in the early 

 land vertebrates, quite large and it has been 

 the natural assumption that the large recess 

 near where the hypophysis occurs should 

 lodge the glandular organ, but it is entirely 

 probable that the recess is the sphenoidal 

 sinus. There is no necessity of adopt- 

 ing Osborn's term recessus hasisphenoidalis 

 since there is no doubt that the structure corre- 

 sponds well with the sinus sphenoidalts of man. 

 It is to be hoped that someone will take up the 

 question of the general homologies of these 

 cavities in different groups of vertebrates so 

 that we may have a firm basis on which to 

 work. The value of fossil animals in furnish- 

 ing facts of anatomical importance has never 

 been fuUy realized and it is to be hoped that 

 an attempt will be made to fill this gap. 



eoy l. moodie 

 Department of Anatomy, 

 The University op Illinois, 

 Chicago, Illinois 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 

 Eumcm Physiology. By Professor Luigi 



LuoiANi. In four volumes; Volume II. 



Translated from the Italian by Frances A. 



Welbt. London, 1913. 



The realm of physiology has become so ex- 

 tensive that the preparation of an encyclopedic 

 treatise on the subject by a single author is a 

 notable intellectual feat. The admirable man- 

 ner in which Luciani has accomplished this 

 feat in his Fisiologia dell' UomOj is testified 

 to by translations which have been made into 

 both Spanish and German. Not only does the 

 book include a review of recent and generally 

 accepted observations and interpretations, but 

 also in many subjects an account of the his- 

 torical development of our knowledge from 

 ancient to modern times. The reader is thus 

 given a perspective which is rarely obtained 

 except by particular historical research. 



A very considerable part of the value of 

 Luciani's great handbook arises from his gen- 

 erous citation of original sources, both old 

 and recent. This feature gives the exposition 

 a permanent utility for the careful student 

 who desires to become acquainted with re- 

 ports by the discoverers themselves. Such a 

 student should not depend wholly on English 

 and German references to literature ; he would 

 do well to examine also French and Italian 

 summaries, for, it must be admitted, there 

 are not infrequently possibilities of tracing 

 work thus which has not been represented 

 where we have been most accustomed to look. 

 Luciani's bibliographies present a rich mine 

 of references to Italian as well as to other 

 original papers. 



The present volume (number II. of the 

 four volumes of an English translation) is a 

 good example of the whole. It is concerned 

 with the internal secretions, the digestive se- 

 cretions, the processes of digestion both me- 

 chanical and chemical, absorption and excre- 

 tion. Many of the illustrations are taken 

 from the original investigations, and a num- 

 ber of them are colored. The chief criticism 

 that can be made against the work is that 

 during the time required for its writing and 

 being translated physiology has been going 



