Part 11

Whether any fancy of the like kind gave origin to the notion still prevalent that a wound or injury between the thumb and the fore-finger is peculiarly likely to be followed by LOCK-JAW, or whether the notion was grounded on some notable instance in which that fearful malady did actually supervene upon a wound in the situation mentioned, I cannot tell. You may, however, rest assured, that it is quite a fallacy. Lock-jaw may result from a wound in any part of the body, or it may occur without a wound; it is very capricious in its attack; the surgeon does not know when to look for it; it often shows itself when he least expects it; but it is not more likely to follow a wound between the thumb and the fore-finger than a wound elsewhere. I think it well to mention this, because I have often known persons greatly alarmed when they have accidentally cut themselves in the dreaded spot.

_Cause of the preferential use of the Right Hand._

Why is man usually RIGHT-HANDED ? Many attempts have been made to answer this question; but it has never been done quite satisfactorily; and I do not think that a clear and distinct explanation of the fact can be given.

There is no anatomical reason for it with which we are acquainted. The only peculiarity that we can discern is a slight difference in the disposition, within the chest, between the blood-vessels which supply the right and the left arms. This, however, is quite insufficient to account for the disparity between the two limbs. Moreover, the same disposition is observed in left-handed persons, and in some of the lower animals; and in none of the latter is there that difference between the two limbs which is so general among men.

Is the superiority of the right hand real and natural, that is, congenital? or is it merely acquired? I incline much to the latter view; because all men are not right-handed; some are left-handed; some are ambidextrous; and in all persons, I believe, the left hand may be trained to as great expertness and strength as the right[9]. It is so in those who have been deprived of their right hand in early life; and most persons can do certain things with the left hand better than with the right.

[9] In the tribe of Benjamin “there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.” Judges xx. 16. When David was at Ziklag there came to him a company of men who “were armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow.” 1 Chronicles xii. 2.

Nevertheless, though I think the superiority of the right hand is acquired and is a result of its more frequent use, the tendency to use it, in preference to the left, is so universal that it would seem to be natural. I am driven, therefore, to the rather nice distinction, that, though the superiority is acquired, the tendency to acquire the superiority is natural.

It may be argued that the tendency must be based upon something physical, and that, therefore, a tendency to superiority implies an actual superiority. This may be so; but I do not think that we are quite in a position to assert that it is so. We perceive that there is a tendency to the preferential use of the right hand; but we do not know upon what that tendency depends, and have, therefore no right to assert that the cause of it lies in the construction of the limb or of the parts which supply the limb with blood and nervous influence, or, indeed, upon any strictly physical cause whatever.

It may be a tendency like that of certain animals to make their holes and nests in particular places and in particular ways, to watch for their prey at particular spots, to migrate in certain directions at particular periods, and to group themselves in a particular order during their travels. Such tendencies, or “Instincts” as they are often called, may possibly be the result of a peculiar conformation of the several animals; but it is, at present, by no means certain that they are so.

I have said that man is the only animal in whom a preference in the use of the limb or limbs of one side is shown. This is a consequence of the fact that he is the only animal who has occasion to use the limbs of the two sides separately, or who is in the habit of doing so. Even in the rudest state of society this habit is engendered in him from a very early period, as in carrying a stick, throwing a spear, and in a variety of ways. The habit increases as he becomes more civilized, owing to the greater number of offices which the hands are called upon to perform; and the necessity for using the hands separately would, of itself, lead each individual to the employment of one more frequently than the other; but that that one should so universally be the right hand, seems to be accounted for only by reference to some natural tendency. The imitative propensity in man and the convenience of uniformity of modes of action are scarcely sufficient to account for it.

I will not detain you by dwelling upon the effect which the superiority of the right hand has in giving a slight superiority to the right leg and the right eye, and will content myself with mentioning a single beneficial result of the preferential use of one hand, viz. that by it, we acquire a greater degree of skilfulness and dexterity than we should do if both hands were equally employed. The exclusive use, for instance, of the right hand in writing, cutting, &c. gives it a greater expertness than either hand would have had if both of them had been accustomed to perform these offices. Hence, we usually find that persons who are left-handed are rather clumsy-fingered, because, although, in them, the left hand is used for many purposes which are commonly assigned to the right, yet the conventionalities of life interfere a good deal. The pen and the knife, for instance, are still wielded by the right hand. Accordingly such persons are neither truly right-handed nor truly left-handed; and they do not commonly acquire so great skill in the use of either hand as do those whose natural tendency is more in harmony with custom.

* * * * *

The great martyr of our Church, when at the stake, is said to have held out his right hand into the flames and to have been heard exclaiming, till utterance was stifled, “This unworthy hand.” This unworthy hand! Of whom or of what was that hand unworthy? Was it unworthy of Him who made it? Was it unworthy of him who bore it? Was it unworthy of the purposes for which it was made? Was it not, on the contrary, a too worthy hand? a hand worthy of a better usage than to be made, first, to sign a recantation of faith and, then, to be burned for having done so? a hand worthy of a better man? No one would have admitted this more readily than Cranmer. We may be sure that he would never have thought of proclaiming a hand or any of his members to be really unworthy of him. Rather would he have willingly confessed that he had fallen far short of the standard of excellence which the body presents; and in that excellence, we doubt not, he recognised an evidence of Divine workmanship. His meaning, therefore, has not been misunderstood. Nevertheless disparaging remarks respecting the body, and the use of the word “carnal” in the sense in which it is usually employed, have some tendency to excuse a shrinking from moral responsibilities on the ground of the weakness of the flesh. Let us remember that much of that weakness is of our own engendering, that a moral obliquity is the source of many of those physical infirmities which, we flatter ourselves, may cover our delinquencies, and which a sympathising humanity is wont, perhaps too often, to throw as a shield over offenders against the laws. In man, and in man alone of created beings, the physical and the moral grow up together and react upon one another; and the charge of a body thus capable of influencing and being influenced demands all our energies to prove ourselves worthy of it.

EXPLANATION OF WOOD-CUTS.

THE HUMAN FOOT.

Fig. page

1 9 Bones of foot, with the lower ends of the two leg-bones.

2 11 Bones of the hind foot of a seal, with lower ends of leg-bones.

3 11 The same of the hind foot of a lizard.

4 14 Side view of the pelvis and lower limb of man. A, the _haunch-bone_. B, the _ischium_, or part upon which we sit. C, the _thigh-bone_. D, the _knee-pan_. E, the _tibia_, or larger leg-bone, with the _fibula_, or smaller leg-bone, alongside it. F, the _heel-bone_. G, the _metatarsal_ bones. H, I, K, the _phalanges_, or bones of the toes.

5 14 Similar view of the pelvis and hind limb of a horse. The letters refer to the same parts as in the preceding figure.

6 18 Represents a section through the lower end of the tibia and through the _heel-bone_, the _astragalus_, _navicular_ bone, inner _cuneiform_ bone, and the bones of the _great toe_. It shows the arrangement of these bones in the arch of the foot and the disposition of the plates of which these bones are composed.

7 25 The same bones as in preceding, with two connecting ligaments. A, the _plantar ligament_. B, ligament passing from the heel-bone F to the scaphoid bone E. D the _Astragalus_. C, one of two small bones, called _sesamoid_ bones, usually found at the ball of the great toe.

8 29 A foot, in an aggravated condition of “flat-foot.” The sole is convex, and so is the inner margin of the foot. It represents also another common deformity, inasmuch as the great toe runs athwart the second toe, which is pressed almost out of sight.

9 38 Front view of the right _tibia_, or larger leg-bone.

10 38 Right _tibia_ lying on a board. The inner, as well as the outer edge, of the upper end rests upon the board; but the inner edge of the lower end is turned away from the board. In other words, the bone is so twisted that, though the upper end lies flat upon the board, the lower end touches it only by its outer edge.

11 40 Figure sitting upon the heel to draw the bow. It is one of a beautiful series of statues in the Glyptothek at Munich. They adorned the pediments of a temple in Ægina, and are supposed to represent the noble actions of the Æacidæ.

12 42 Represents some of the muscles and tendons seen on the inner side of the leg and foot. A, _Gastro- cnemius_ and _Soleus_ muscles. They are attached, above, to the thigh-bone and the leg-bones; below, by means of the _Tendo Achillis_ (_a_) to the heel-bone; they together form the calf-muscle. B, _Posterior tibial_ muscle attached, above, to the tibia, below, by its tendon (_b_) to the scaphoid bone. D, process of the tibia called the _internal malleolus_ or inner ankle. F, _Anterior tibial_ muscle attached, above, to the front of the tibia, below, to the scaphoid bone. _k_, the _flexor tendon_ of the great toe.

13 44 Gives a corresponding view of the outer side of the leg and foot. E, the lower end of the fibula, called the _external malleolus_, or outer ankle. C, the _short fibular_ muscle attached, above, to the fibula; below, by its tendon (_c_), to the outer metatarsal bone. I, the _long fibular_ muscle. Its tendon (_i_) runs, behind the outer ankle and under the instep, to the metatarsal bone of the great toe; it is not seen in the latter part of its course. G, the _anterior fibular_ muscle attached by its tendon _g_ to the outer metatarsal bone. _h_, the _extensor tendons_ of the toes.

14 47 Foot of a young woman presenting the variety of “club-foot” called “_Talipes varus_.” The sole is very much bent, and turned inwards and upwards, so that the part of the instep which should be above and in front is directed downwards and comes into contact with the ground.

15 49 Diagram (from Bell’s _Anatomy_) showing the mode in which the extensor tendons of the toes follow the curve of the ankle and are bound to it by cross straps, instead of taking the direct course represented by the line _a_.

16 52 Foot and leg from the cast of the Farnese Hercules in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

17 52 Foot and leg of a Negro.

18 52 Outline of under surface of foot of an Englishman.

19 52 Outline of under surface of foot of a Negro.

20 55 Skeleton of the foot of a Chinese female. From a drawing by B. Cooper, in _Phil. Trans._

21–25 57 Sections, from above downwards, through the tarso-metatarsal joints. A, _metatarsal_ bone. B, _tarsal_ bone. C, C, the _ligaments_ connecting the two.

26–29 59 Figures standing, bowing, stooping, and squatting.

30–32 60 Figures walking.

33–35 62 Position of foot in three stages of a step in walking.

36–38 65 Figures running.

39 86 Bones of the left hind limb of an Elephant.

40 86 Bones of the left hind limb of a Hippopotamus.

41 86 Bones of the left hind limb of a Rhinoceros.

42 86 Bones of the left hind limb of an Ox.

43 86 Bones of the left hind limb of a Horse.

44 89 Hind limb of a Gorilla, showing the length of the digits, and the strong inner digit diverging from the others.

45 90 Drawing of stuffed specimen of a Gorilla in the British Museum.

46 98 Section of a foot, showing the disposition of the fibres that run from the bones and plantar ligament to the skin of the sole. At the heel the greater number of the fibres are seen to run _back_wards from the heel-bone to the skin. At the end of the great toe and beneath the ball of the toe they run, for the most part, _for_wards, from the bones and plantar ligament, to the skin.

47 103 View of the sole of a foot in its natural state.

48 103 Outline of the sole of a shoe, as commonly made for a man’s foot.

49 103 Sole of the foot of a girl twenty-two years old, distorted by the pressure of the shoe, but otherwise healthy.

50 103 View of the skeleton of a foot so deformed, from above.

51 105 The proper sole for a shoe laid, for the sake of comparison, on the symmetrical sole of the ordinary shape.

52 105 The proper sole pointed at the toes.

THE HUMAN HAND.

Fig. page

53 110 The bones of the arm (_humerus_), of the forearm (_radius_ and _ulna_, the former is the upper of the two, the forearm and hand being semi-prone), and of the hand. The names of the wrist-bones are, _scaphoid_, _semilunar_ (these two are in contact with the radius), _cuneiform_ (this is in a line with the ulna, but separated from it by an interval in which lies the triangular ligament, see fig. 64, page 134), _pisiform_ (faintly seen in shadow beneath the cuneiform), _trapezium_ (supporting the metacarpal bone of thumb), _trapezoid_ (supporting the metacarpal bone of fore-finger), _magnum_ (supporting the metacarpal bone of the middle or great finger), _unciform_ (supporting the metacarpal bones of the ring and the little fingers).

54 112 Diagram of the bones of the hand with the ends of the radius and ulna. 1, end of _radius_; 2, end of _ulna_; 3, _scaphoid_; 4, _semilunar_; 5, _cuneiform_; 6, _pisiform_; 7, _trapezium_; 8, _trapezoid_; 9, _magnum_; 10, _unciform_; 11, 11, _metacarpal_ bones; 12, 12, first row of _phalanges_; 13, 13, second row of _phalanges_; 14, 14, third row of _phalanges_; I, thumb; II, forefinger; III, middle finger; IV, ring finger; V, little finger.

55 116 Drawing of the front of the chest and the shoulders, with the collar-bones running across from the upper edge of the breast-bone to the projecting processes of the shoulder-blades.

56 117 The chest and shoulder of an Eagle. A, A, the united _collar-bones_, or “merry-thought;” B, the _coracoid_, or “side-bone;” C, the long, slender _shoulder-blade_; D, the _sternum_; E, the _humerus_.

57 120 The head, fore part of chest, and shoulder of a Rhinoceros. The chest is deep and flat at the sides. The shoulder-blade and arm-bone are nearly vertical, that is, they nearly correspond with the ribs in their direction.

58 122 Side view of chest, shoulder and arm (human). The shoulder-blade is prolonged in the direction of the spine, that is, _across_ the ribs.

59 124 Side view of fore part of a Monkey’s skeleton.

60 126 A section, from side to side, through the Elbow-joint, showing the shape of the surfaces of the bones. A, the _radius_; B, the _ulna_; CC, the side _ligaments_ holding the radius and ulna to the _arm-bone_, D.

61 127 The upper limb with the forearm and hand in the state of supination. A, the _long Pronator_ muscle.

62 127 The same in a state of pronation. B, the _short Supinator_ muscle.

In this and the preceding drawing a plumb-line, descending from the outer condyle of the humerus traverses the lower end of the ulna and the ring finger.

63 131 Drawing of the _biceps_ muscle. The hand is in a state of pronation. Driving the gimlet is effected by the movement to the state of supination.

64 134 Section, from side to side, through the Wrist, showing the shapes of the bones and the mode in which they are adapted to one another. A, the _radius_; B, the _ulna_; C, _scaphoid_ bone; D, _cuneiform_ bone; E, _semi-lunar_ bone; F, line of contact of radius and ulna; G, G, side _ligaments_ connecting the wrist-bones with the bones of the forearm. H, I, K, L, M, _metacarpal_ bones of thumb and fingers.

65 138 View of the superficial muscles on the palmar aspect of the forearm and hand. A, the _radial flexor_ of the wrist. B, the _long palmar_ muscle. C, the _ulnar flexor_ of the wrist. D, the muscles of the “ball of the thumb.” E, the _long supinator_ muscle. F, the _long pronator_. G, the lower part of the _biceps_ muscle. H, Cross _ligaments_ binding the tendons in their places. (This and the two following figures are from Quain’s _Anatomy_.)

66 138 View of the deep muscles and tendons on the palmar aspects of the forearm and hand. A, the _long flexor_ of the thumb. B, some of the _flexors_ of the fingers. C, the _Adductor_ muscle of the thumb.

67 139 The _extensor_ muscles and tendons of the wrist, thumb, and fingers seen on the back of the forearm and hand. A, A, A, the _abductors_ and _adductors_ of the fingers. B, B, the cross _ligament_ which binds the tendons in their places.

68 146 Hand holding a cricket-ball, showing that the tips of the fingers and the thumb all reach the same level.

69 152 Diagram showing the distribution of the _median_ (A) and _ulnar_ (B) _nerves_ in the hand.

70 165 Drawing of a magnified section through the skin of the palmar surface of the thumb, including three of the ridges seen on that surface. _a_, the outer or horny layer of the _cuticle_; _b_, the deeper layer of the same called “_rete mucosum_;” _c_, _c_, _c_, the _cutis_, with _papillæ_ rising from its surface beneath the ridges and projecting into the rete mucosum; _g_, _g_, grains of _fat_ lying in the deeper part of the cutis and in the tissue beneath it. Between _f_ and _f_ are three _sweat-glands_, each composed of a tube rolled up into a ball or knot. The tubes (_h_, _h_) are seen ascending from them through the cutis and cuticle, and opening at the tops of the ridges. (From Kölliker’s _Mikroskopishe Anatomie_.)

71 170 Section of skin still more magnified. _a_, Outer or horny stratum of cuticle; _b_, inner stratum of cuticle, or “rete mucosum;” _c_, papillary stratum of cutis; _d_, deeper or fibrous stratum of cutis. The curling tube rolled into a ball at the lower part is the sweat-gland. Its duct is seen ascending through the fibrous structure of the cutis, and presents the coiled appearance of a rope as it traverses the cuticle.

72 170 A few layers of the cuticle and rete mucosum of a Negro, showing the spots of dark pigment in the rete which give the black colour to the Negro’s skin. (This and the preceding from Todd and Bowman’s _Phys. Anatomy_.)

73 170 Section of a Corn and adjacent skin. _a_, the _cuticle_; _c_, the _cutis_ with its _papillæ_. The cuticle is seen to be very thick, and the papillæ are somewhat enlarged in the corn.

74 170 Section of a Wart and adjacent skin. _a_, _cuticle_; _c_, the _cutis_ with its _papillæ_. The latter are seen to be enlarged, or “hypertrophied,” in the wart.

75 174 Vertical section, made lengthways, of a Nail raised from its bed, showing its connexion with the cuticle. _a_, _a_, _cuticle_; _d_, _d_, _nail_.

76 174 Similar section of a Nail lying in its bed of cutis. _a_, _cuticle_; _b_, _rete mucosum_; _c_, _cutis_; _d_, _nail_.