108 
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
Table IX. — Percentage Proportions of the Segments of the Vertebral 
Column in the Giants Magrath and Byrne (8). 
Magrath. 
Byrne. 
Cervical Segment 
19-3 
21-4 
Thoracic Segment 
51 
52-2 
Lumbar Segment 
29-7 
26*4 
These sets of indices show that these giants’ vertebral columns and the 
column of subject A 9 are marked by similar departures from the normal, 
and that in the case of the giants the departure was greater. 
It is particularly noteworthy that this “ giant ” type of vertebral column 
is not a reproduction or persistence of a foetal or infantile condition. The 
age-changes in the percentage lengths of the segments of the normal column 
are shown in the following table. 
Table X. — Percentage Lengths of the Cervical Thoracic and 
Lumbar Regions (11). 
New-born 
Child. 
Five-year- 
old Child. 
Adult 
(German). 
Cervical Segment 
25-6 
20*3 
22T 
Thoracic Segment 
47-5 
45*6 
46*6 
Lumbar Segment 
26-8 
34*2 
31*3 
Not only is A 9’s column unusual in its proportions, but also in its curva- 
tures. This is well shown in fig. 1. The lower part of the lumbar curve 
is well marked ; the upper part entirely absent. The thoracic segment is 
inclined forward, and is almost straight. The cervical segment is placed 
vertically, and is straight. The cause of the posture of the thoracic segment 
is clearly to be associated with the shape of the lowest (11th and 12th) 
vertebral bodies. These are wedge-shaped, being much deeper behind than 
in front. The extent of the difference between the anterior and posterior 
vertebral heights of the body of the 11th thoracic vertebra and the corre- 
sponding measurements of normal vertebrae are shown in Table XI. (see also 
fig. 2). 
In the skeleton of the giant Magrath, Professor Cunningham found that 
the thoracic segment of the vertebral column was convex anteriorly (8). 
The spine under consideration therefore occupies in this respect also a 
position intermediate between the normal spine and that of the giant. 
