The Sun.
London, England, 1825-12-02 00:00:00

ItO VAL ACA DEM Y.

Last Wight Mr. GRE-EN, the Professor .of Ana-
corny, continued his course for the instruction of the students.
In his preceding lecture he had described the bones of the
Crunk, that part of the body which includes the viscera neces-
asry to life. lie now proceeded to describe the upper and lower
extremities, the proper knowledge of which is so necessary to
the artist. As what the learned Professor said upon this sub-
ject was too technical to be interesting to general readers, we
shall only notice the principal points. After pointing out the
general correspondence between the upper and lower ex-
tremites, he proceeds to show how the upper, from lightness
and the freedom of articulation, is adapted to great mobility,
while the lower, from the massiveness of the parts, the firm-
ness of the joints, and the strength of the muscles and ligatures,
is excellently fitted for local motion and the support of the
body. In describing the upper extremities, he made an obser-
vation which cannot he too often impressed on the recollection
of. yoing artists—namely, that the longitudinal edge of the
scapula is not parallel to the spine, and that as the arm moves
upwards, the lower angle of the scapula is removed farther from
the vertebral column, and is approximated to it as the arm is
lowered. He touched upon the varieties oi*the clavicle and scapula
in different animals, and remarked on the precision with which
the uses of bones might he inferred from their forms. No one
had carried this study so far as the celebrated Cuvier of Paris,
who, in examining the fossil remains of the antediluvian world,
inferred what the form. of animals must have been merely
from an examination of the teeth. In speaking of the hand,
Mr. Green observed that an eminent philosopher had regarded
the structure of that part of the human body as the cause of the
superiority of man over other animals. This opinion was erro-
neous; the hand he considered as the instrument only. Intel-
lect directs the hand and gives the superiority. With regard
to the lower extremities, we must confine ourselves to one or
two observations, which we consider important. In refutation
of the strange opinion which some writers have adopted, that
man was originally a quadruped, Mr. Green referred to the
play of the head of the thigh bone in the acetabulum or socket.
He explained how the ball which forms the head of that bone,
acquires a position in the socket, when a man is upon all-
lours, very different from that which takes place in other ani-
mal ; weight of the human body in that position being thrown
on the ridge of the acetabulum, which is not adequate to its due
support. In describing the ancle and foot, he pointed out the
great advantage derived from the arched formation of the
tarsus. That structure, he observed, gave free play to the
muscles, and prevented the blood-vessels from being com-
pressed so as to impede the circulation. As the weight of the
body principally rests on the tarsus, the arch is favourable to
Its support, and from the springiness of the arch is of great
advantage in leaping and vaulting, as well as in common
walking.