REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE. 521 
given as to the synonymy of these expressions is on page 55, where 
the arterial canal is mentioned in the text, and reference is given to 
a figure (Fig. 28) in which it is called the vertebral canal. This 
looseness in the use of technical terms, while not so serious for the 
advanced student, is confusing to the beginner, and, what is much 
worse, schools him in methods which are flagrant violations of the 
principles of scientific description. 
Not only is there a regrettable looseness in the use of terms, but 
the definitions of these terms are also often unsatisfactory. Thus, in 
commenting on the general axes of the vertebrate body, the author 
tells us (p. 39) that “lines drawn at right angles to the median plane 
are transverse lines; lines zz or parallel with the median plane are 
longitudinal lines, and lines connecting the back and belly are vertical 
lines,” a lapse in geometry rather than in anatomy. Similar inaccu- 
racies of definition occur also in the body of the text; for instance, 
on page 46, under the title “ Characters Common to all Vertebræ,” 
we are told that “each vertebra, whatever its shape, consists of two 
essential parts, the ventral cylindrical body or centrum, and the dorsal 
transverse neural arch,” and on page 109 we are further informed 
that the typical caudal vertebra consists “of little more than an 
elongated body,” and that it has “no neural arch,” Instances of 
this kind lead to the conclusion that Dr. Jayne’s forte does not lie in 
making definitions. 
Aside from its defects in terminology, the description of the cat’s 
skeleton is remarkably full and accurate. We have read much of it 
with a specimen in hand, and have found practically nothing worthy 
of serious criticism. The only real omission that we have noted is 
that of the relatively insignificant penis bone. In exhaustiveness 
this description places the osteology of the cat second only to that 
of the human being. As the chief object of the book is to give a full 
description of the cat’s skeleton and not to advance a system of 
terminology or modify the existing ones, we must congratulate the 
author on his success. 
The illustrations accompanying the descriptions form one of the 
most striking features of the volume. To say that they are numerous 
would be to understate the truth; they are profuse. In the descrip- 
tion of the skull the account of each bone is usually accompanied 
with one or more outlines of the whole skull, on which are shown in 
heavy lines the limits of the particular bones considered. This 
method is also used for the bones of the carpus and tarsus, and as in 
each case the whole hand or foot is reproduced, the extravagance of 
