友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
on the relations of man to the lower animals-第7部分
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!
crosses the foot obliquely to be attached to the base of the great toe。
No muscle in the hand exactly corresponds with this; which is eminently
a foot muscle。
To resumethe foot of man is distinguished from his hand by the
following absolute anatomical differences:
1。 By the arrangement of the tarsal bones。
2。 By having a short flexor and a short extensor muscle of the digits。
3。 By possessing the muscle termed 'peronaeus longus'。
And if we desire to ascertain whether the terminal division of a limb;
in other Primates; is to be called a foot or a hand; it is by the
presence or absence of these characters that we must be guided; and not
by the mere proportions and greater or lesser mobility of the great toe;
which may vary indefinitely without any fundamental alteration in the
structure of the foot。
Keeping these considerations in mind; let us now turn to the limbs of
the Gorilla。 The terminal division of the fore limb presents no
difficultybone for bone and muscle for muscle; are found to be
arranged essentially as in man; or with such minor differences as are
found as varieties in man。 The Gorilla's hand is clumsier; heavier;
and has a thumb somewhat shorter in proportion than that of man; but no
one has ever doubted its being a true hand。
FIG 19。Foot of Man; Gorilla; and Orang…Utan of the same absolute
length; to show the differences in proportion of each。 Letters as in
Fig。 18。 Reduced from original drawings by Mr。 Waterhouse Hawkins。
At first sight; the termination of the hind limb of the Gorilla looks
very hand…like; and as it is still more so in many of the lower apes;
it is not wonderful that the appellation 〃Quadrumana;〃 or four…handed
creatures; adopted from the older anatomists* by Blumenbach; and
unfortunately rendered current by Cuvier; should have gained such wide
acceptance as a name for the Simian group。 But the most cursory
anatomical investigation at once proves that the resemblance of the
so…called 〃hind hand〃 to a true hand; is only skin deep; and that; in
all essential respects; the hind limb of the Gorilla is as truly
terminated by a foot as that of man。 The tarsal bones; in all important
circumstances of number; disposition; and form; resemble those of man
(Fig。 19)。 The metatarsals and digits; on the other hand; are
proportionally longer and more slender; while the great toe is not only
proportionally shorter and weaker; but its metatarsal bone is united by
a more moveable joint with the tarsus。 At the same time; the foot is
set more obliquely upon the leg than in man。
{Footnote} *In speaking of the foot of his 〃Pygmie;〃 Tyson remarks; p。
13: 〃But this part in the formation and in its function too; being
liker a Hand than a Foot: for the distinguishing this sort of animals
from others; I have thought whether it might not be reckoned and called
rather Quadru…manus than Quadrupes; 'i。e。' a four…handed rather than a
four…footed animal。〃
As this passage was published in 1699; M。 I。 G。 St。 Hilaire is clearly
in error in ascribing the invention of the term 〃quadrumanous〃 to
Buffon; though 〃himanous〃 may belong to him。 Tyson uses 〃Quadrumanus〃
in several places; as at p。 91。。。。 〃Our 'Pygmie' is no Man; nor yet
the 'common Ape'; but a sort of 'Animal' between both; and though a
'Biped'; yet of the 'Quadrumanus'…kind: though some 'Men' too have been
observed to use their 'Feet' like 'Hands'; as I have seen several。〃
As to the muscles; there is a short flexor; a short extensor; and a
'peronaeus longus'; while the tendons of the long flexors of the great
toe and of the other toes are united together and with an accessory
fleshy bundle。
The hind limb of the Gorilla; therefore; ends in a true foot; with a
very moveable great toe。 It is a prehensile foot; indeed; but is in no
sense a hand: it is a foot which differs from that of man not in any
fundamental character; but in mere proportions; in the degree of
mobility; and in the secondary arrangement of its parts。
It must not be supposed; however; because I speak of these differences
as not fundamental; that I wish to underrate their value。 They are
important enough in their way; the structure of the foot being in
strict correlation with that of the rest of the organism in each case。
Nor can it be doubted that the greater division of physiological labour
in Man; so that the function of support is thrown wholly on the leg and
foot; is an advance in organization of very great moment to him; but;
after all; regarded anatomically; the resemblances between the foot of
Man and the foot of the Gorilla are far more striking and important than
the differences。
I have dwelt upon this point at length; because it is one regarding
which much delusion prevails; but I might have passed it over without
detriment to my argument; which only requires me to show that; be the
differences between the hand and foot of Man and those of the Gorilla
what they maythe differences between those of the Gorilla; and those
of the lower Apes are much greater。
It is not necessary to descend lower in the scale than the Orang for
conclusive evidence on this head。
The thumb of the Orang differs more from that of the Gorilla than the
thumb of the Gorilla differs from that of Man; not only by its
shortness; but by the absence of any special long flexor muscle。 The
carpus of the Orang; like that of most lower apes; contains nine bones;
while in the Gorilla; as in Man and the Chimpanzee; there are only
eight。
The Orang's foot (Fig。 19) is still more aberrant; its very long toes
and short tarsus; short great toe; short and raised heel; great
obliquity of articulation in the leg; and absence of a long flexor
tendon to the great toe; separating it far more widely from the foot of
the Gorilla than the latter is separated from that of Man。
But; in some of the lower apes; the hand and foot diverge still more
from those of the Gorilla; than they do in the Orang。 The thumb ceases
to be opposable in the American monkeys; is reduced to a mere rudiment
covered by the skin in the Spider Monkey; and is directed forwards and
armed with a curved claw like the other digits; in the Marmosetsso
that; in all these cases; there can be no doubt but that the hand is
more different from that of the Gorilla than the Gorilla's hand is from
Man's。
And as to the foot; the great toe of the Marmoset is still more
insignificant in proportion than that of the Orangwhile in the Lemurs
it is very large; and as completely thumb…like and opposable as in the
Gorillabut in these animals the second toe is often irregularly
modified; and in some species the two principal bones of the tarsus;
the 'astragalus' and the 'os calcis'; are so immensely elongated as to
render the foot; so far; totally unlike that of any other mammal。
So with regard to the muscles。 The short flexor of the toes of the
Gorilla differs from that of Man by the circumstance that one slip of
the muscle is attached; not to the heel bone; but to the tendons of the
long flexors。 The lower Apes depart from the Gorilla by an exaggeration
of the same character; two; three; or more; slips becoming fixed to the
long flexor tendonsor by a multiplication of the slips。Again; the
Gorilla differs slightly from Man in the mode of interlacing of the
long flexor tendons: and the lower apes differ from the Gorilla in
exhibiting yet other; sometimes very complex; arrangements of the same
parts; and occasionally in the absence of the accessory fleshy bundle。
Throughout all these modifications it must be recollected that the foot
loses no one of its essential characters。 Every Monkey and Lemur
exhibits the characteristic arrangement of tarsal bones; possesses a
short flexor and short extensor muscle; and a 'peronaeus longus'。
Varied as the proportions and appearance of the organ may be; the
terminal division of the hind limb remains; in plan and principle of
construction; a foot; and never; in those respects; can be confounded
with a hand。
Hardly any part of the bodily frame; then; could be found better
calculated to illustrate the truth that the structural differences
between Man and the highest Ape are of less value than those between
the highest and the lower Apes; than the hand or the foot; and yet;
perhaps; there is one organ the study of which enforces the same
conclusion in a still more striking mannerand that is the Brain。
But before entering upon the precise question of the amount of
difference between the Ape's brain and that of Man; it is necessary
that we should clearly understand what constitutes a great; and what a
small difference in cerebral structure; and we shall be best enabled to
do this by a brief study of the chief modifications which the brain
exhibits in the series of vertebrate animals。
The brain of a fish is very small; compared with the spinal cord into
which it is continued; and with the nerves which come off from it: of
the segments of which it is composedthe olfactory lobes; the cerebral
hemisphere; and the succeeding divisionsno one predominates so much
over the rest as to obscure or cover them; and the so…called optic lobes
are; frequently; the largest masses of all。 In Reptiles; the mass of
the brain; relatively to the spinal cord; increases and the cerebral
hemispheres begin to predominate over the other parts; while in Birds
this predominance is still more marked。 The brain of the lowest
Mammals; such as the duck…billed Platypus and the Opossums and
Kangaroos; exhibits a still more definite advance in the same
direction。 The cerebral hemispheres have now so much increased in size
as; more or less; to hide the representatives of the optic lobes; which
remain comparatively small; so that the brain of a Marsupial is
extremely different from that of a Bird; Reptile; or Fish。 A step
higher in the scale; among the placental Mammals; the structure of the
brain acquires a vast modificationnot that it appears much altered
externally; in a Rat or in a Rabbit; from what it is in a
Marsupialnor that the proportions of its parts are much changed; but
an apparently new structure is found between the cerebral hemispheres;
connecting them together; as what is called the 'great c
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!