Macalister — On the Osteology of tico Negroes. 347 



LYII. — On the Osteology op two N^egeoes. By Alexan^der 

 Macalistee, M. D., Professor of Anatomy and CMrurgery, Uni- 

 versity of Dublin. 



[Eead, November 30, 1880.] 



Two well-grown male adult JN'egroes were received, in the ordinary 

 course of subject-supply, in tbe Dissecting Rooms of the University, 

 and, as in this country the opportunities of such dissections are rare, 

 I put their bodies into the hands of the most careful and senior of 

 our students, who, under my constant personal superintendence, made 

 very thorough examinations of all the systems of their bodies. 



In this and the following short records I have summarized the 

 results of the notes made by these gentlemen. 



It is rather remarkable that while in the ordinary course of things 

 it might be expected that Negroes would form a large proportion of 

 the subjects dissected in America, yet the anatomists of that country 

 have not given to us, in anything like an exhaustive manner, a record 

 of the presence or absence of peculiarities. The few meagre anato- 

 mical notes hitherto published in that country are only sufficient to 

 stimulate the curiosity of anatomists, not to satisfy it. 



The Negroes were both of pure African descent, well developed, 

 full-grown, born in the West Indies, sailors. ISTo. 1 was smaller, 

 older, about 44 ; No. 2 was 5 feet 1 1 inches in height, largely de- 

 veloped, younger, about 35. The skeletons of both have been care- 

 fully prepared, and are now placed in the Ethnological Collection 

 in the College Museum. From these I have made the following 

 notes : — 



The skull of No. 1 is prognathous, dolichocephalic, mesoseme, 

 platyrhine, hypselocephalic, mesorhine. Its facial angle, as measured 

 by the alveolar index, is 1066, and its measurements are as fol- 

 lows : — 



Fronto-iniac arch 310mm., long diameter 178mm.; intermastoid 

 arch 370mm., intermastoid diameter 128 mm., greatest width 131mm.; 

 height 139 mm. 



The sagittal suture is partly ankylosed, simply toothed. There is 

 a large left and small right parietal foramen; a small wormian bone in 

 the parieto-mastoid suture on each side ; a short sphenoparietal suture 

 13 mm. long on both sides. There is no posterior condyloid hole, 

 and the condyles are unsymmetrical, the right being shorter and 

 divided into two facets; the left longer and undivided. The right 

 anterior condyloid hole is divided by a septum, and the jugular emi- 

 nences are large, projecting on one side into a kind of paramastoid pro- 

 cess, while there is a small spur in front of the left condyle like a trace 

 of the third occipital condyle. 



The temporals have large mastoid processes, a post-glenoid fissure, 

 a bony bridge crossing the jugular foramen on each side internally, 



R. I. A. PROC, SER. II., VOL. III. SCIENCE. 2 E 



