PREFACE 



THERE are so many features of interest to the anatomist, morphologist, 

 and embryologist, associated with the subject of this memoir : so 

 much has been written about the sternum in detached papers : one's 

 conclusions from a prolonged study of the subject agree so little with 

 accepted notions of its morphology and development : that it seemed 

 desirable to gather up the facts at one's disposal, and present one's ideas in 

 book form rather than a series of separate papers. At the same time, it is 

 recognized that the following pages present no complete account, and form 

 by no means a survey of the entire field. 



Having been collecting materials for many years, I have to express 

 my thanks to many friends, associated with hospitals in Dundee, Edinburgh, 

 and Liverpool. For the personal observations I have made on the 

 comparative anatomy of the sternum, I am greatly indebted to Professor 

 Stewart, of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and to Dr. H. O. 

 Forbes, of the Liverpool Museum, for the facilities which they have 

 afforded to me for the examination of the collections under their charge. 



I have also to express my grateful thanks for the valuable assistance 

 rendered in different ways by Mr. Douglas-Crawford and Mr. Edward 

 Whitley in the preparation and publication of this memoir. 



A. M. PATERSON 



The University of Liverpool 



March, 1904 



