86 THE STRUCTURE OF MAN 
as early as the eighth week of fcetal life. The detinitive 
position (Fig 62) is, however, very gradually reached; for it is 
a well-known fact that the mobility of the great toe is far more 
marked in children at birth and in the earliest years of life than 
in adult Europeans! In certain races (eg. the Japanese) 
4 
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S 
Af 
—= 
=. ae | 
Fic. 61.—SKELETON OF THE LEFT HAND, Dorsal ASPECT. 
cf., cuneiform ; Zu., lunar; mg., magnum ; pe., pisiform ; sc., scaphoid ; ¢p., 
trapezium ; tpz., trapezoid ; wn., uneiform. I-V, digits. 
a considerable mobility is often retained throughout life; and 
the uses to which the great toe can be put fill a European with 
astonishment. 
Balz, in his work on Zhe Bodily Characteristics of the 
Japanese, says: “The use made by the Japanese of the great 
toe as a kind of thumb is very remarkable; it can be independ- 
1 The foot of a child which has not yet learnt to stand or walk is a particularly 
interesting study. Not only are the toes capable of performing complex movements 
(the great toe being even utilisable for grasping purposes), but the sole or plantar 
surface of the foot, in its form and in certain of its furrows, resembles the palm of 
the hand far more than later, when socks and shoes have exercised an influence 
upon it. 
