THE GORILLA'S FOOT. 
33 
Each kind of animal must be compared with others, some of which appear to be more 
complicated and some less highly organised, so that its peculiar construction can be comprehended. 
Man, as the perfection of living forms, is naturally considered the model or type with which all others 
should be compared, and therefore anatomists who begin by studying man name the bones, muscles, 
and other structures of animals after his. That is to say, any of their structures which are com- 
parable with those of man, by their native position and use, are named similarly. 
The question then arises, and can of course on this principle be answered, are the hinder extre- 
mities of the Gorilla feet or hands? do they resemble human feet or human hands in their anatomy, 
or in the arrangement of their bones, muscles, leaders, and blood-vessels? 
By placing side by side the joined bones of the foot of man and those of the hind extremity of 
the Gorilla, it will be observed that the same number are present, and that they can be compared, 
as regards their shape and position, in a most remarkable and satisfactory manner. 
A human foot is composed of three parts, so far as its bones are concerned. These are the toes, 
or the very movable bones in the 
front of the foot (1), and then there 
are five slender bones (2) placed side 
by side, and reaching from the toes 
to the pieces forming the back of 
the foot or ankle. The five 
bones thus parallel, and situated 
between the beginning of the toes 
and the ankle-bones, are counted 
from within outwards. That at- 
tached to the great toe is the first, 
and that to the little toe is the 
fifth. These are called metatarsal 
bones, and give length and narrow- 
ness to the foot, and they can be 
readily felt with the finger on our 
own bodies. 
Behind them are the seven 
bones of the “ tarsus,” or ankle, all 
connected together in a strong arch, 
and jointed in front to the five bones 
just mentioned, and above to the two bones of the leg. The hindmost part of the ankle or heel is 
formed by the heel-bone, os calcis (3), which forms the back part of the arch of the sole. The Achilles 
tendon is united to it behind, and above it is jointed with a bone, on which rest the bones of the leg, 
the astragalus bone (4), so called from the Greek word, which means a “ die,” for the boys and men in 
the olden time tossed these bones, and played with those of the sheep as modem boys do. 
There are two bones of the ankle just in front of these ; one in contact with the heel-bone is called, 
from its shape, the cuboid or cube-shaped bone (5), and the other, jointed to the astragalus, is, from its 
faint resemblance to a boat or hull of a ship (navis), termed the navicular bone (0). In front of these 
two are three others placed side by side, and jointed in front to some of the metatarsal bones. 
They are called, from their wedge-shaped outlines (wedges for the arch of the foot), cuneiform bones (7), 
and there are the inner, middle, and outer of them. The inner is curved on its front surface, an<] lias 
a joint there for the end of the slender (metatarsal) bone of the great toe. It is longer than the 
next wedge-shaped bone, so that just a little spot of the second slender bone of the second toe touches 
it close to the corresponding one of the great toe. This inner wedge-shaped bone, the metatarsal 
bone of the great toe, and the joints of the toe itself, are all on a line, which is parallel to the bones 
of the next and other toes. The middle and the outer wedge-shaped bones have each a slender 
metatarsal bone attached to them, and the two remaining slender metatarsals are jointed on to 
the cube-shaped bone which projects in front of the heel-bone (os calcis). It is the length in front, 
and the solidity and arched form of the ankle, together with the parallel direction of all the slender 
