389 



diaphanous. A deep depression exists in this region, at the 

 bottom of which is a slightly prominent crest, and on either 

 side a very rugged surface for the attachment of the Hgamen- 

 tum iiuchse, which substance 1 now also place before you ; it is 

 a yellow, elastic tissue of immense strength, attached by thick 

 roots to the spinous processes of the vertebrae ; ascending 

 thence it divides into two thick vertical and diverging plates, 

 which are inserted into the rough surfaces of the occipital bone 

 already alluded to, and it is worthy of remark, that each fasci- 

 culus or lamina of these plates of yellow tissue first ends 

 obliquely in a round tendinous cord, and it is through the me- 

 dium of an infinite number of these tendons the attachment to 

 the skull takes place. This peculiar structure is well seen in 

 the preparation on the table ; its design, most probably, is to 

 elFect a more intimate union with the bone than the elastic 

 tissue could obtain. The internal table of the cranium is 

 thin, but very hard and vitreous, and the base is rough and 

 irregular ; the cribriform plate is very broad and deeply 

 depressed, with numerous foramina for the passage ot the 

 olfactory nerves, which are also numerous and large; the 

 foramen for the nasal branch of the opthalmic is also very 

 large ; the optic holes are small ; there is little or no sella 

 Turcica, and there is no distinct pituitary body attached to 

 the brain; some vascular and fibro-cellular tissue corresponds 

 to its situation : the foramen rotundum is very large, to trans- 

 mit the superior maxillary nerve, which is of prodigious size. 

 "Inext place before you the cast of the encephalon,and two 

 drawings, one of its upper, the other of its under surface, both 

 of the full size ; also portions of the organ hardened in spirits. 

 The brain, though very large, forms a diminutive contrast to 

 the immense cranium. On examining the three divisions of 

 the encephalon, 1 found the anterior lobes of the cerebrum 

 to be but of moderate size, narrow anteriorly, and arched a little 

 downwards ; beneath each is the olfactory lobe, of considerable 

 size ; its rounded oval ganglion was so depressed into the 

 ethmoidal recesses, that it was necessary to cut through each 



