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tiires ill general. Various distinguished German anato- 
mists have directed their talents to the elucidation of the 
interesting and very varied deformations which result from 
this premature and generally partial ossitication of the 
cranial sutures. It first attracted attention in the heads of 
Cretins. 1 may mention the names of Prof. Virchow of 
Berlin, Prof. Luca of Frankfort on the Maine and of 
Prof. Welcker of Halle. The two former have each 
formed an elaborate system of classification of the deform- 
ities of the skull that result from these premature syno- 
stoses, which arise from a contraction of the sjiace for the 
developement of the brain, in one direction, that perpen- 
dicular to the closed suture, and a compensatory expansion 
in some other, mostly in the direction of the suture itself. 
Thus the too early obliteration of the sagittal suture pro- 
duces macro-cephalism, or dolicho-cephalism and scapho- 
cephalism; that of the more or less transverse sutures of 
the skull, different kinds of brachy-cephalism. I need 
scarcely say, that the use of these terms is in a sense 
quite distinct from that in which they were employed by 
Ketzius, in his classification of the different races of man- 
kind. Another frequent synostotic deformity is the pro- 
duction of obliquity of the head, plagio-cei)halism, by the 
early closure of a suture on one side only. 1 have no 
intention to describe, or even enumerate the various kinds 
of deformity of the cranium produced by synostoses, or 
to mention the names which have been applied to them. 
It would be needless to those who are acquainted with 
the writings of Virchow and Luca. I may, bowever, 
be permitted to observe, that synostotic deformations of 
the head are not confined to any particular race, or races, 
but, as might have been expected, occur among various 
