Abstract
THE current number of the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology commences with a suggestive description, by Dr. J. F. Goodhart, of three cases of malformation of the spinal column associated with lateral curvature, which lead him to the conclusion that cases of asymmetry of the two sides of the spinal column are due to original malformation of the bodies of the implicated vertebrae in the direction of a bi-lobed or double nucleus, and the subsequent unequal growth of the two halves. —Prof. Struthers has also a lengthy article on variations of the vertebras and ribs in man, which will be read with interest in connection with that of Dr. Goodhart, and by all comparative anatomists, several very instructive abnormalities being described. —This paper is followed by one from the pen of Dean Byrne, on the development of the powers of thought in vertebrate animals in connection with the development of their brain; in which the author, by a comparison of the cerebral capacities of the different families of Mammalia with those of comparative anatomical structure and embryonic development, endeavours to prove that the functions of the anterior lobes of the brain belong to the act of thinking single objects of sense, those of the middle lobes to the act of thinking such objects with a sense of succession of them and as part of that succession, and those of the posterior lobes to the act of thinking a co-existence or succession of them as a case of a general principle.—Prof. M. Watson continues his contributions to the anatomy of the Indian elephant, describing the muscles and blood-vessels of the face and head. The same author also, with a drawing, describes a remarkable case of pharyngeal diverticulum, which opened on the free margin of the posterior pillar of the fauces, occupied the anterior triangle of the neck, and had a duct-like communication with its orifice, running between the internal and external carotids.—Dr. Arthur Ransome records the position of the heart's impulse in different postures of the body, from chest-rule measurements made by Mr. W. A. Patchett.—Baron A. de Watteville describes the cerebral and spinal nerves of Rana esculenta, from a series of dissections recently made.—Prof. Turner gives an account of the occurrence of Phoca greenlandica as a British species, from a specimen captured in Morecambe Bay and identified by Mr. T. Gough.—Mr. J. C. Ewart records notes on the minute structure of the retina and vitreous humour.—Mr. J. C. Galton also has a note on the Epitrochleo-anconeus or Anconeus Sextus (Gruber) as a supplement to Prof. Gruber's paper, giving drawings of it in Tamandua tetradactyla, Cholopus didactlus, Phascolomys wombata, and Echidna setosa.—The remaining short papers are by Mr. J. Reoch, on urinary pigments; by Dr. J. J. Charter, on abnormalities of the arteries of the upper extremity; by Mr. J. Harker, on a four-toed foetus without head or upper limbs; and by Dr. J. Cantlie and Mr. Bellamy, on the absence of the quadriceps-femoris muscle, and on the presence of a sixth lumbar vertebra, the first rib being rudimentary.
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Scientific Serials . Nature 11, 257–258 (1875). https://doi.org/10.1038/011257a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/011257a0