BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [16] 



The body length is the distance from the vertex to the heels in a 

 straight line, the feet being, if possible, flexed at right angles to the 

 legs. Mark the points and measure on whatever the body lies upon, 

 not on the body itself. 



In warm climates the brain, if it is to be of any vakie for investiga- 

 tion, must be taken out and placed in a preservative within twenty-four 

 hours after death; in cold climate or season, if the body was more or 

 less exposed to cold, the brain may be in good condition even several 

 days after death. 



In taking out the brain, make a scalp cut from eai* to ear over the 

 top of the head and push and dissect the skin backward and forward 

 until most of the skull cap is exposed. Mark your proposed cut with 

 a knife. Cut the bone right above the supraorbital ridges and low 

 along the sides, finishing below the occipital protuberance. Use all 

 care not to injure the brain (it will be of value, however, even if slightly 

 injured). To avoid cuts of the brain substance do not saw the bone 

 wholly through, but help to detach the cap with hammer and chisel. 

 Any saw and chisel, if properly and patiently used, will accomplish 

 the purpose. Circular cut of the skull is easier than the angular. 



When the skull cap is lifted, cover the sharp edges of the back part 

 of the skull with cloth or cotton, to avoid injury to the brain. Cut 

 carefully the dura mater on each side of the middle line (with scissors). 

 Cut and remove carefully that part of the dura that lies between the 

 halves of the cerebrum. Begin to remove the brain from the front. 

 Cut all nerves and, finally, the spinal cord. Open the tentorium as 

 you come to it wholly, and, helping with one hand from within, receive 

 the brain into the palm of the other hand. 



If there is any possily'dity of doing so, weigh the hrain immediately 

 after extraction. 



Place the specimen at once in a vessel, base downward, upon a thick 

 laj^er of cotton. Introduce a thin layer of cotton between the cere- 

 bellum and cerebrum. See that the specimen rests evenlj^. Cover 

 with another layer of cotton, but use no pressure, and pour in an 

 excess of ten per cent formalin. Any large tin kettle or other vessel 

 that can be closed and made tight with wax, gum, or other sub- 

 stance, so that it does not leak, will do for keeping and sending the 

 brain in. To those who apply, the Museum will gladl}^ furnish suitable 

 metal receptacles. 



The specimen can be sent, well covered with cotton, at once; but the 

 better wa}^ is to send it after eight days, when it is already hardened. 

 Upon receiving the specimen, the charges for transportation will be 

 paid by the National Museum. Address: U. S. National Museum, 

 Washington, D. C, Department of Anthropology. Inclose a copy 

 and soon after mail a duplicate of the required information, and give 

 your full name, title, and address, so that proper credit can be given. 



