900 DR. F. WOOD-JONES ON THE : 
in a general way its external genitalia may be said to be similar 
to those of the female. Still, though it is admittedly a matter of 
difficulty to be absolutely certain of the sex of an individual, 
there are minor characters, which in typical cases furnish some 
indications upon which to make a correct diagnosis fairly certain. 
Text-figure 4. 
External genitalia of a young female in the autumn of the first year. 
In the first place the clitoris of the female, though remarkably 
like the penis of the male, is, as a rule, slightly smaller, and in 
most cases, its root slopes more gently to the perineum, so that 
its base merges with the perineal skin with less line of demarca- 
tion than is present in the male. Another fairly obvious dis- 
tinction is the shorter distance between the root of the clitoris 
and the anus in the female. In some cases, but I think not in 
all, this sexual difference is noticeable; it was remarked on by 
Geoffroy, and, taken with the condition of the genital organ, 
it gives the best guide for determining the sex of young 
individuals. RE 
It will be noticed that in the virgin female in the late autumn 
months, just as in the mature embryo, the perineum presents a 
smooth unbroken surface. There is no wrinkle or pucker; no 
depression or blind pit, to mark a closed female genital orifice. 
It is not the case, as the description of Owen might lead one to 
