SKELETON. 



The ofteology of tlie head, including the teeth, is con- 

 fidered under Cranium ; that of the vertebral column under 

 Spike ; of the cheft under Lung ; of the pelvis under 

 Head ; and of the limbs under Extremities. The os hy- 

 cides, or linguale, is defcribed in the article Deglutition. 

 The joints are confidered together with the bones which 

 they unite ; except that the articulation of the lower jaw is 

 defcribed under Deglutition ; and thofe of the occiput, 

 firft and fecond vertebra, under Head. 



The obfervation, which we have made of the bones in 

 general, that they influence and determine the form of the 

 foft parts, holds good more particularly of the whole fl<eleton. 

 Its form, in all men, and in all itagcs of their life, corre- 

 Iponds fo entirely to the configuration of their body, that 

 an experienced eye would eafily determine, from a tolerably 

 preferved ilcekton, not only the age and fex, but the growth 

 and moll ftrikmg charafters of bodily formation of the in- 

 dividual to whom it had belonged. Hence it is not enough 

 for an artift to know the mufcles : he muit begin with 

 ftudying the fkeleton. However numerous the differences 

 of individual configuration in the human race, ftill retaining 

 its general character and refemblance, accurate examination 

 will (hew us not fewer diverfities in the ftrufture, form, fize, 

 greater or lefs elegance, and even greater or lefs finenefs 

 and firmnefs in the grain of the bone, in human (keletons, 

 which Hill preferve the general charafter. Befides thefe 

 endlefs individual traits, diitinguilhing each fkeleton from 

 others, we find very ftriking differences according to age 

 and fex. 



With refpeft to the former of thefe circumftances, (kele- 

 tons have been divided into perfeA and imperfeA ; the latter 

 not very well chofen term being applied to feetufes, children, 

 and fubjefts in whom the epiphyfes are not yet confolidated 

 with the bodies of the bones, or converted into true apo- 

 phyfes ; although, in relation to the refl of the ftrufture, 

 the bones are then as perfect as in the adult. The younger 

 the fubjeft, the more cartilage does the (keleton contain. 

 Reckonmg from the twentieth year backwards, the younger 

 the fubjeft the larger is the head, compared to the trunk 

 and limbs ; ( the head is about one-half of the body, in the 

 fecond month of utero-gellation ; one-fourth in the ninth 

 month ; one-fifth at the age of three years ; and one-eighth 

 when the growth is complete : ) the fmaller are the bones of 

 the face, and the larger the organ of hearing, in comparifon 

 to the cranium ; the larger are the fontanelles ; the flatter 

 is the lower part of the face ; the larger the cheft in rela- 

 tion to the pelvis ; the fhorter the limbs ; the larger the 

 clavicles ; the fmoother and flatter the broad bones, and the 

 rounder the cylindrical bones. See Albert Durer on the 

 proportions of the body, particularly at the end of the firft 

 book ; and Sue fur les Proportions du Squelette de 

 I'Homme examine depuis I'age le plus tendre, jufqu'a celui 

 de 25, 60 ans, &c. in les Memoires prefentes, &c. p. 572. 



The male and female (keleton differ, not only in the whole 

 combination, or the general imprefiion, from a comparative 

 furvey, but alfo in the form and properties of the individual 

 parts. Thefe differences, however, are not clearly per- 

 ceptible until fome years have elapfed after birth. The 

 plates of the female (keleton in Chefelden and Sue are not 

 to be compared to the accurate delineations of the male 

 flceleton by Albinus. Soemmering has, however, fupplied 

 the deficiency in his beautiful " Tabula fceleti feminei junfta 

 defcriptione," folio. He enumerates the following as the 

 characters of the female. " The female flteleton is fmaller 

 and flenderer in all parts than the male. The ratio of the 

 head, including the teeth, to the relt of the bony llrufture, 

 is greater than in the male : the numbers are as i to 6 in 



2 



the former, i to 8 or 10 iH the latter. The circumference 

 of the female fkuU is larger on the firfl; view, in fkeletons 

 of the fame height. The flvuU is larger in proportio*i to the 

 face : its foramina, the palatine arch, and the whole cavity 

 of the mouth, are fmaller. The whole thorax is fhorter ; 

 larger above, as far as the fourth rib, narrower below ; 

 more moveable, lefs conical ; more convex in front ; more 

 diltant from the pelvis, the interval between the laft rib and 

 the OS innominatum being greater ; lefs prominent ante- 

 riorly, fo that when the trunk is fupinc, the fymphyfis 

 pubis is the higheft point in the female, the thorax in the 

 male fubjeft. Generally, the cartilages of the true ribs are 

 longer in proportion to the bone. The vertebral canal is 

 more capacious, and the lateral openings for the nerves are 

 alfo larger. The fpinous procefles are lefs prominent ; the 

 fternum is fhorter, ending at the plane of the fourth rib, 

 while it reaches to the plane of the fifth in the male. 



" The loins are longer, and the angle between the laft lum- 

 bar vertebra and the (acrum, conflituting the promontory, 

 is more acute. 



" All the diarrieters of the pelvis are greater ; the criils 

 and tuberofities of the ofFa iimcminata further apart ; the 

 fpace between the ofTa pubis wider, and the ligaments of 

 the fymphyfis confequently broader, although fliorter. 



" The facrum is turned more backwards, fo that its apex 

 and the coccyx do not projeft fo much into the pelvis. 

 The acetabula are farther apart, and hence the unlleady 

 gait of the fex : they are, however, nearer to the front of 

 the pelvis, fo that, when in the progrefs of pregnancy the 

 centre of gravity is thrown more forwards, its equilibrium 

 is better preferved. 



" The lower Lmbs form a more acute angle with the 

 pelvis ; the feet are fmaller. 



" The fhoulders are more flanting, and the articulations 

 nearer together ; the upper limbs are fliorter, and the fingers 

 more pointed. 



" Female bones are diftinguifhed from the male by having 

 fewer afperities, fmaller fpines and protuberances, fliallower 

 imprefFions, fmaller articulations, and being on the whole 

 fmoother and more finely turned. The (haft or body of a 

 cylindrical bone is more (lender, in comparifon to the arti- 

 cular ends ; and hence the faft which was fpecified above, 

 of the greater weight of the head in proportion to the reft 

 of the fkeleton. 



" The bones are not fo hard in the female : they have, on 

 the whole, a fomething peculiar, a feminine charafter, which 

 is not eafily defcribed. Their extremities remain longer 

 cartilaginous. 



" The frontal finufes are fmaller ; the interval between 

 them, or the glabella, lefs elevated ; and the fuperciliary 

 arches lefs prominent. All the bones of the face are more 

 flender. The figure of the alveolar circle is more elliptical 

 in both jaws ; in man more circular. The teeth ai-e fmaller. 

 The OS hyoides more flender. 



" In the vertebra, the bodies are longer, and more hol- 

 lowed at the fides ; the tranfverfe proceHes are directed 

 more backwards, fo that the channels on each fide of the 

 fpinous proceiies are deeper. The fpinous proceffes are 

 (harper pointed, fhorter, and more flanting. 



" The ribs are more flender, and flatter ; their margins 

 are confequently fharper. 



" That the cartilages of the upper ribs are more fre- 

 quently ofTified ; that thofe of the middle ribs are broader ; 

 and thofe of the lower longer, which has been aflerted by 

 fome anatomifts, does not feem clearly made out. 



" The firft bone of the fternum is longer in comparifon to 

 the fecond. The latter is more than double the length of 



the 



