LECTURE V. 121 



There is no doubt that, even in European nations, there 

 exist pelvic variations, which are certainly connected with the 

 formation of the cranium. Just as we find in cranial measure- 

 ments that extreme forms occur which are normal in distinct 

 races, as for instance, among Germans we find long heads at- 

 taining almost the dimension of the negro-head ; so we find 

 pelvic forms among Europeans approaching those of other 

 races. There can, however, be no doubt that an exact method, 

 as recommended for the measurement of crania, will show the 

 existence of a normal form characteristic of each race, both 

 for the male and the female, around which all deviations, to 

 their furthest limits, may be grouped. Professor Weber, of 

 Bonn, has distinguished four chief forms of the pelvis : the 

 oval, the round, the square, and the cuneiform ; and, according 

 to him, the oval prevails among Europeans, the round among 

 native Americans, the square among the Mongols, and the 

 cuneiform among the black races. The distinction of these 

 forms, and their applicability to races, may be open to objec- 

 tion, on the ground that sometimes only two or three specimens 

 were examined. On studying the animal series, there can be 

 no doubt that the shape of apertures, in which the accoucheur 

 is especially interested, and which Professor Weber has taken 

 as the basis of his classification, should not be taken as the sole 

 standard of pelvic formation, but that the entire structure 

 should be taken into account, and especially such parts as 

 relate to the position of the young. 



It is the ihac bones, and their expansion in length and breadth, 

 which deserve especial attention in this connexion, and we 

 should accordingly have to distinguish two forms of the pelvis, 

 — the flat, key-shaped, and the long, cuneiform shape. On 

 considering the pelvic sexual difi'erence from this standpoint, 

 it is easily seen that the normal male pelvis approaches the 

 animal type, whilst the female pelvis most represents the hu- 

 man type. I shall, in the sequel, have an opportunity of 

 showing that this resemblance to the brute is, like other cha- 

 racters, most marked in the cuneiform, lengthened pelvis of 

 the negro and negress. 



The form and the proportion of the extremities are not less 



