Elements of the comparative anatomy of the vertebrate animals : designed especially for the use of students / by Rudolph Wagner ; ed. from the German by Alfred Tulk.

  • Wagner, Rudolph, 1805-1864.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Elements of the comparative anatomy of the vertebrate animals : designed especially for the use of students / by Rudolph Wagner ; ed. from the German by Alfred Tulk. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    and united to 7 or 8 sacral vertebrae. In the Apes with tuberosities, the ischia are broad and flat inferrorly, as if cut off. The spine of the ischium occurs only in the Apes. On the other hand, in some Cheiroptera and Edentata, the spines of the ischia coalesce posteri- orly, or with the sacral and caudal bones, so that the sciatic notch is always converted into a true foramen. The foramen ovale is- often very large, and occasionally, as in Phoca, the two bones en- closing it are very much elongated. The acetabulum has almost always a bottom, and frequently a depression for the insertion of the ligamentum teres, which latter is, however, completely wanting even in the higher Apes. The acetabulum is very seldom perforated, as in Echidna (and in all Birds). In the Ai, which has such an un- seemly gait, the acetabulum is very small and shallow. From the anterior or upper border of the pubic bones there frequently arises a pointed spine-shaped eminence (eminantia ilio-pectinea), which is the first indication of a marsupial bone, e. g. in Vespertilio spec- trum. In the Monotremata and Marsupiata there is constantly placed in the same situation the marsupial bone, an elongated cylin- drical and triangular bone, the free point of which is directed for- ward. It may be regarded as formed by a partial ossification of the fibres of the external sheath of the abdominal muscles. The pelvic bones are very simple in the Cetacea, and appear sometimes to be entirely wanting, as in Manatus. In the Dolphins they con- sist of two simple elongated bones lying near the anal and genera- tive organs, which converge together from opposite sides, or else, as in many Whales, are connected by a transverse piece, this rudi- mentary form of pelvis frequently resembling the hyoid bone of Man ; in the Dugong a small V-shaped bone is the representative of the pelvis. The Posterior Extremities exhibit a great general resemblance to the anterior. The femur preserves the human type in the different orders more than the humerus. The trochanter major is often very large, and extends beyond the head of the bone ; the internal tro- chanter is occasionally wanting, and in a number of animals, e. g. Castor, Dasypus, Equus, but in the Rhinoceros especially, we meet besides with a strong process more or less in the middle, resembling a third trochanter. In the Cheiroptera the head of the straight femur lies in a peculiar manner between the two trochanters, which are of equal height. The femur is short in the Solipedia and Ru- minantia, and particularly so in the Seals. In the leg, the tibia is always the principal bone and the main support of the femur. The