USE OF THE SUTURES, 0^^'J 



may pais down between them, free from compreffion and 

 lecrele the ofleous matter. At the fame Inwe, the thin, bones 

 compofing the upper part of the (kali, refting as an arch upon 

 its bafis, raiifl: be united together Co firmly, as not to be (epa- 

 rated by common degrees of violence. For this purpofe, 

 proje6liiig points from the external furface of each bone, are 

 reciprocally received into correfponding nitches ; which only 

 penetrate through one half of t!ie thicknefs of the (Icull, and 

 form an irregular kind of dovetailing. 



Two advanages arife from this ftrudlure, being fuperficial, 

 and confined to the external (able of the Ikiill. The projedting 

 points from each fide, refting upon the folid furface of the 

 internal table of theoppofite bone, can refift more effedually 

 any violence, which might tend to force the bones inwards;, 

 and the internal part of the fkull prefents, by this means, a 

 fmooth furface to the coverings of the brain ; for internally 

 sio appearance of a jagged future is feen. 



From this view of the fubjeft we fee, that the futures of x^us the fu- 

 the human (kull, by iheir peculiar formation, at once unite tures unite the 

 the bones together, and fo far feparate them, as to allow the ^^jtihe vafcular 

 interpofition of a vafcular organ by which their fuperficies is organ requilice 

 gradually increafed to its greateil extent *. This explanation ^^^ ^heirgrowth. 



of 



* Since this paper was written in the year 1800, I have found, 

 that a fimilar opinion was publifhed by ProfeflTor Soemmerring in 

 1794, in his valuable work, " De corporis humani fabrica." To 

 him, therefore, any credit which may belong to the primary 

 fuggeftion of this ufeof the futures is due. As his opinion, how- 

 ever, has been little noticed by anatomiits generally, and is placed 

 in a clearer point of viev/ by the fa6ls which <uggefted this further 

 explanation of it to me, it has not been thought improper to give 

 this effay a place in thefe Memoirs. But whilft the reader will fee, 

 by the following quotation, the near refemblance between the opi-' 

 nion of Profeflbr Soemmerring and that which I have brought for- 

 ward, I hope the charafler of plagiarift or compiler will not be at- 

 tributed to me. 



** Ufushorum ficfefe habentium terminorum olTacranii inter bene 

 liquet. 



" Incrementum ambitus calvariae levant, ni enim inter olTa capi- 

 tis mox poft partum futurae interponerentur, haec crefcere non 

 poflenr, nifi alia ratione natura rem iiiftitueret. Tali igitur 

 modo incrementum calvarise cum incremento reliquorum offium 

 convenit ; initio enim luturis vel potius lineis cartilaginolis ofla 



lis- 



