LECTURE 11. 



73 



exerted but in closing them ; it is this sub- 

 stance also which supports the head of ani- 

 mals, without muscular effort, whilst they 



are grazmg. 



I remind you, gentlemen, that Mr. Hunter, 

 who did not consider life to be dependent 

 on organization, was I believe the first who 

 clearly ascertained and publicly announced 

 the fact, that muscles, after contracting to 

 their utmost, might gradually acquire a new 

 sphere of contraction. This fact was first 

 ascertained by the following case, which I 

 relate, because I believe it is not generally 

 known. A lady who had both knee pans 

 broken and greatly retracted, came to Lon- 

 don many years after this accident, and 

 consulted Mr. Hunter on her case. Almost^ 

 every other surgeon would have considered 

 it hopeless. He, however, who was con- 

 stantly thinking about the reparative pro- 

 cesses, began to enquire whether the long 

 union which had taken place between the 

 distant portions of the bone was of a liga- 

 mentous and unyielding nature. To ascer- 

 tain this point, he endeavoured to force the 

 upper portion still higher, and found that 



