42 



disorder must evidently cause death from starvation. But little 

 can be done to remedy any injury to the nerves of the proboscis 

 or to the bony channels through wliich they run, on which states 

 paralysis is most likely to depend ; therefore, unless he be a 

 zoological specimen or a Burmese deity, an elephant affected with 

 paralysis of the trunk of some standing should be destroyed. As 

 might have been anticipated the nerves of the trunk are found 

 to be very large, they are mainly derived from the fifth cranial 

 root, the motor part of which is very large. Cuvier enquires into 

 the question of how it is that the trunk can be lengthened, and 

 comes to the conclusion that this is due to the intrinsic radiating 

 and transverse muscles which, as they lessen the diameter of the 

 organ, increase its length. It would seem that in addition to 

 this there is a possibility of an " erection " of the organ, so 

 largely is it supplied with blood vessels. This requires, however, 

 further investigation; but a certain anatomist, in considering how 

 the lengthening occurred, certainly forgot the penis when he said 

 " we do not find any part without a bone, except this, that is 

 protruded or prolonged, and so kept for some time." 



The Nasal Chambers are small and vertical — the turbinated 

 bones seem only represented by a flap of cartilage which consti- 

 tutes a valvular arrangement (regulated it is said by muscle) 

 over the rather large opening from the nasal cavities into the 

 Facial Sinuses. The latter are appendages to the former, but 

 attain a considerable importance anatomically, physiologically, 

 and pathologically in the elephant. The nobly expansive forehead, 

 seemingly indicating great ci-anial derelopment is singularly 

 deceptive on this score for (as in the owl) it depends on the large 

 development of air-containing cavities in the bones of the face 

 and anterior part of the cranium. Although the brain cavity is in 

 the position which it ordinarily occupies in quadrupeds, the 

 bones of the face are developed in so extraordinary a manner as 

 to deceive us as to its exact locality. The Facial Sinuses may be 

 divided into the maxillary and the frontal, they are present in 

 all Herbivora and in many other animals, and their degree of 

 development is somewhat proportioned to the total weight of the 

 teeth ; accordingly the elephant has them more developed than 

 any other known herbivore. They compensate for the weight of 

 the teeth by containing heated air which buoys up the head, at 



