THE LIMBS
The study of the limbs is of great importance, because, although it is
the special province of the bust to contain the organs of vegetative
life, it is the limbs which render it useful. In fact, it is the lower
limbs which control our locomotion and the upper limbs which execute
the labour of mankind.
One characteristic of man, equally with that of standing in an erect
position, supported only on the lower limbs, is the independence of
the upper limbs, which are raised from the ground and relieved of the
function of locomotion--a function that still continues in all other
mammals, excepting the anthropoid apes, whose upper limbs are extremely
long and barely escape the earth, and serve the animal merely as an aid
and a support in walking. The birds, although supported on their hind
limbs alone, nevertheless have their fore limbs assigned to the sole
office of wings for the transportation of their bodies.
Consequently, the free and disposable upper limb, peculiar to mankind,
would seem to mark a new function in the biologic scale--human labour.
_Anatomy of the Skeleton of the Limbs._--In contrast to the bust,
the limbs have an internal skeleton, adapted solely to the function
of support (not of protection). The bones are covered with masses
of striped muscles, which have as their special function voluntary
movement, that is to say, obedience to the brain.
The upper and lower limbs correspond numerically, and the arrangement
of the bones is analogous; and this holds true for all the higher
vertebrates. The nearest bones, those that are attached to the trunk,
are single in all four limbs. Then, just as though branching out, they
next double in number, and then multiply successively as we approach
the extremities of the limbs. Thus the forearm and the lower leg have
two bones, and the hands and feet have many.
In the upper arm we have the humerus, in the thigh the _femur_, in the
forearm the _ulna_ and _radius_ (the ulna is situated on the same side
as the little finger and the radius on that of the thumb), in the lower
leg the _tibia_ and _fibula_. Then come the many short bones (eight in
the carpus and seven in the tarsus) which in the hand form the wrist or
_carpus_, and in the foot the ankle or instep, the _tarsus_. These are
followed by other long bones (five in the hand and five in the foot),
which constitute the _metacarpus_ and _metatarsus_, and these in turn
by the long bones of the _phalanges_ (fingers and toes), which grow
successively smaller toward the extremities and are successively named
_proximal_, _middle_ and _distal_ _phalanges_ (_phalangettes_). These
last are missing in the thumb and the big toe. In conjunction with the
last phalanges, the fingers and toes are protected by nails.
_The Growth of the Limbs._--Recent studies, conducted principally
by Godin in France, author of the classic work upon growth, have
demonstrated that the long bones of the limbs obey certain special laws
of biologic growth.
While a long bone is growing in length it does not grow in width or
thickness, and while it is increasing in thickness it does not gain in
length; hence the lengthening of the bones takes place in alternate
periods; during the period of repose relative to growth in length, the
bone gains in thickness.
I have already explained, in connection with the stature, that we owe
the growth of the long bones to a variety of formative elements, the
cartilages of the epiphyses, which control the growth in length of the
long bones, and the enveloping membrane of the body of the bone, the
periosteum, which presides over the growth in thickness.
The above mentioned alternation in the growth of the bones must
therefore be attributed to an alternation in the action of these
various formative elements of the bones.
In the case of two successive long bones (for example, the humerus
and radius, the femur and tibia, the metacarpus and phalanges, etc.),
they alternate in their growth; while one of them is lengthening, the
other is thickening; consequently the growth of a limb in length is
not simultaneous in all the bones, but takes place alternately in the
successive bones. During the time when the growth devolves upon the
longest bone, the limbs show the greatest rate of increase in length,
and when, on the contrary, it devolves upon the shortest bone, the
growth is less; but in either case it continues to grow.
The growth of the long bones of the limbs proceeds by alternate periods
of activity and repose, which succeed each other regularly.
These periods of activity and repose occur inversely in each two
successive bones.
The periods of repose from growth in length are utilised for gain
in thickness, and reciprocally. The long bones lengthen and thicken
alternately, and not simultaneously.
It is only at the age of puberty (fifteenth year) that a complete
simultaneity of growth takes place, after which epoch the growth in
stature and length of limb diminishes, yielding precedence to that of
the vertebral column.
When the complete development of the bodily _proportions_ is attained
(eighteenth year), the length of the lower limbs is equal to one-half
the stature.
When the upper limbs are extended vertically along the sides of the
body, the tip of the middle finger reaches the middle point of the
thigh, while the wrist coincides with the ischium (hip-bone). The total
spread of the arms is, on an average, equal in length to the stature.
The proportions between the lower limbs and the bust, resulting from
the attainment of complete individual development, determine the types
of stature: _macroscelia_ and _brachyscelia_. Since the order of growth
as between the two essential portions of stature is now determined,
we are able to interpret macroscelia as a phenomenon of infantilism
(arrested development of the bust).
_Malformations. Excessive Development of the Nearer and Remoter_
_Segments._--But there are other proportions that are of interest to
us, within the limbs themselves. Even between the nearer and remoter
portions of the limbs there ought to be certain constant relations
(indices) that constitute differential characteristics between the
various human races and between man and the ape. If the humerus or
upper arm is taken as equal to 100, the radius or forearm is equal
to 73 in the European, while in the negro it is equal to about 80.
Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that excessive length of the
forearm is an ape-like characteristic.
Consequently, the measurement of the segments of the limbs is
important, and it is made with a special form of calipers; when the
index of the segments deviates from the accepted normal figure, this
constitutes a serious _anomaly_, frequently found in degenerates,
and it often happens that an excessive development of the remoter
segments, the bones of the extremities, explains the excess of the
total spread of the arms over the stature, unassociated with the
macroscelous type.
_Absence of Calf._--In addition to this fundamental deviation from
normality, there are other malformations worthy of note that may occur
in the limbs. Such, for example, is a deficiency or absence of the
calf of the leg. The well-turned leg, which we admire as an element of
beauty is a distinctive human trait most conspicuous among the races
that we regard as superior. Among the more debased negro races the leg
is spindling and without any calf; furthermore, it is well known that
monkeys have no calves, and still less do they exist among the lower
orders of mammals.
_Flat Feet._--Another important malformation relates to the morphology
of the feet. Everyone knows the distinctive curve or arch of the foot,
and the characteristic imprint which it consequently leaves on the
ground. Sometimes, however, this arch is missing, and the sole of the
foot is all on the same plane (flat foot). The dark-skinned natives of
Australia have flat feet as one of their racial characteristics; in our
own race it constitutes an anomaly that is frequent among degenerates.
Flat feet may also be acquired as the result of certain employments
(butler, door-keeper, etc.), which compel certain individuals to
remain much of the time on foot. But in such cases the deformity is
accompanied by a pathological condition (neuralgic symptoms and local
myalgia). Like all malformations, this may have special importance in
connection with infantile hygiene (the position of the pupil, the work
done by the children, etc.).
_Opposable Big Toe._--Another malformation combined with a functional
anomaly, that is never met with as a deformity resulting from
adaptation, is the opposable big toe. Sometimes the big toe is greatly
developed and slightly curved toward the other toes, and capable of
such movement as to give it a slight degree of opposability; hence the
foot is prehensile. This characteristic, regularly present in monkeys,
is so far developed in certain degenerates as to make it possible for
them to perform work with their feet (knitting stockings, picking up
objects, etc.); so that this class of degenerates, who are essentially
parasites, solve the problem of supporting themselves by trading on the
curiosity of the public, so that, by straining a point, we might bestow
upon them the title of _foot labourers_.
_Loose and Stiff Joints._--Anomalies may also occur in connection
with the articulation of the joints. It sometimes happens that they
are extremely loose and weak, and allow the bones an excessive play of
movement; and, if the lower limbs are thus affected, it increases the
difficulty of maintaining equilibrium when standing erect or walking.
On the other hand, it may happen that the articulations are too stiff,
and consequently render many movements difficult, especially if through
an anomalous development of the outer coating of the bone, it results
in congenital ankylosis.
_Curvature of the Legs._--A special importance attaches to certain
alterations undergone by the heads of the bones which contribute
to the formation of the knee, because of the curvature of the leg
which results from them (rachitis, paralysis). The leg may become
bowed outward or inward; when it is bowed inward (knock-knees, _genu
valgum_), the knees strike together in walking; when, on the contrary,
it is bowed outward, the result is bow-legs (_genu varum_), known
popularly in Italy as "legs of Hercules," a deformity which in a mild
degree may also result from the practice of horse-back riding.
_Club-foot (Talipes)._--Other deviations from the normal position occur
in connection with the foot. Certain paralytic children (Little's
disease) walk on the fore part of the foot (_talipes equinus_, "horse's
foot"); in some cases the foot is also turned inward, and consequently
such children cross their legs as they walk (_talipes_ _equino-varus_).
THE HAND
_Chiromancy and Physiognomy. The Hand in Figurative Speech._ _The High
and Low Type of Hand._--The hand is in the highest degree a human
characteristic. It is man's organ of grasp and of the sense of touch,
while in animals these two functions are relegated to the mouth. The
hand has always claimed the attention not only of scientists but of all
mankind without distinction. Attempts have been made to discover the
secrets of human personality from the hand, and a whole art has been
built up, called _chiromancy_, which endeavours to read from the hand
man's destiny and psychic personality, just as _physiognomy_ was the
art of interpreting the character from the face.
Chiromancy was an accredited art as far back as the days of ancient
Greece, and it also had a great vogue in the middle ages; while to-day
it is out of date and superseded, or perhaps is destined to rise
again in some new form, just as physiognomy has risen again in the
study of "expressions" of the face and the imprints which they leave
behind them. Scientists also have made the hand the object of their
careful consideration; and the result of their researches shows that
the hand really does contain individual characteristics that are
not only interesting but, up to a certain point, are revelations of
personality. A written word, a clasp of the hand, may furnish documents
for the study of the individual. Graphology, for instance, is naturally
related to the functional action and to the characteristics of the hand
itself. Gina Lombroso has recently made a study of the _hand-clasp_ in
its relation to character; when a haughty person offers his hand, he
has the appearance of wishing to thrust you from him; the miser barely
offers the tips of his fingers; the timid man yields a moist and chilly
hand to your touch; the loyal friend makes you feel the whole vigor of
his hand in its cordial pressure.
In the gesture we have an individual form of linguistic expression.
Consequently, man reveals himself, not alone through his creative part,
the head, but also through its obedient servant, the hand. "The hand
is gesture, gesture is visible speech, speech is the soul, the soul is
man, the soul of man is in the hand."
Furthermore, we can judge from the hand whether a man is fitted for
work or not; and it is to work that the hand owes its human importance.
The first traces of mankind upon earth are not remains of skeletons,
but remains of work--the splintered stone. The whole history of social
evolution might be called the history of the hand. To say that the
hand is the servant of the intelligence is to express the truth in too
restricted a way, because the intelligence is nourished and developed
through the products of the hand, as by degrees the work of the latter
transformed the environment. Hence, the history of our intellectual
development, like that of our civilization, is based upon the creative
work evolved by the collaboration of hand and head. And so, in the
orphan asylums, we have the children sing the hymn to the hand, which
is a hymn to labour and to progress:
"Our hand is good for every task."
All the solemn acts of life require the cooperation and sanction of
the hand. We take oath with the hand; marriage is performed by uniting
the hands of the bridal pair; in proof of friendship or to seal a
compact, we clasp hands. The word hand has come to be often used in a
symbolic sense in many expressive phrases possessing a social and moral
significance: "Take heed that the hand of the Lord does not fall upon
you;" "Pilate washed his hands;" "to put oneself into another's hands;"
"to have a lavish hand;" "to sit with idle hands" or "with the hands in
the pockets;" "one hand washes the other;" "to have a hand in the pie;"
"to turn one's hand to something;" "to lend a final hand;" "to speak
with the hand on the heart;" "to believe the evidence of one's hands,"
etc.
And this high and symbolic significance given to the hand dates back
even to bible times:
Solomon says: "The length of days is in her right hand; and in her left
hand riches and honour" (_Prov._ 3, 16).
And Moses: "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your soul and
bind them for a sign upon your hand" (_Deut._ 11, 18).
Attempts have recently been made to describe the "psychological
types" of the human hand. Zimmermann, for instance, studies two types
of hand: the _high type_, delicate, small, slender, with rounded,
tapering fingers, and convex nails; a hand which would indicate a fine
sensibility, delicate and refined sentiments, a well balanced mind, a
high degree of intelligence, a strong and noble character. And there is
the _low type_, coarse, short and stocky, with thick fingers and flat
nails; an index of sluggish sensibilities, vulgar sentiments and a low
order of intelligence, a weak will and apathetic character.
In accordance with the theories of mechanics, the type of hand has
been considered in relation to its organic use and morphological
adaptation. In general, the hand used in the coarser forms of work is
of the low type; the high type of hand is that required for nimble and
fine movements, in which there is need of the successive concurrence
of all those delicate little groups of muscles which are able to act
independently and thus give to this organ the marvelous and subtle
variety of movements which distinguish it. In regard to dimensions,
the large, heavy hand would betoken use, and the little hand _disuse_.
Therefore, the small hand may be considered as a stigma of parasitism,
a distinction which at the present day has lost its nobility. Excepting
in so far as the "brain workers," who make themselves useful without
employing their hands, may still show a distinctive smallness of these
members.
We should not, however, adhere solely either to the psychological
theory of the hand, or to the theory of adaptation; it is necessary to
consider the characteristics of the hand from several different points
of view.
_Dimensions._--The dimensions of the hand bear a constant relation to
the stature and to certain partial dimensions of the body, while the
various parts of the hand preserve constant reciprocal proportions.
As far back as in the time of Vitruvius it was known that the human
hand is related to the stature in the proportion of 10 to 100. This is
a very important fact to know, because the proportion varies in the
inferior races and in the anthropoid apes, the descent in the scale
showing a corresponding increase of length of hand relatively to the
stature. Thus, for example, in the Mongolian races the proportional
length of the hand is 12.50, and in the higher apes it equals 18.
Consequently too long a hand is in itself an anomaly that indicates a
low type of man; it is to be classed with those anomalies that were
formerly regarded as atavistic reversions, phenomena of absolute
retrogression in the biological scale.
_Relations between the Hand and the other Dimensions of the Body._--The
closed fist, taking the extreme outside measurement between the
metacarpophalangeal articulations, corresponds to the breadth of the
heart.
The length of the hand corresponds to the height of the visage, and
also to the distance intervening between the sternal incisura and the
auricular foramen; it is also equal to the distance between the two
nipples, and therefore also corresponds to the depth of the chest.
There may be hands which are either excessively large or much too
small, and that are really marks of degeneration. An excessive volume
of these members is called _megalomelia_, and an excessive smallness
_oligomelia_.
We may encounter an extremely small hand quite as often in the son
of an alcoholic labourer as in the son of a degenerate aristocrat;
frequently men whose parents were mentally deficient have small,
delicate, almost effeminate hands.
_The Proportions between the Various Segments of the Hands._--The
length of the middle finger, measured from the digito-palmar _plica_ or
fold, ought to equal the length of the palm.
Hence the index of the palm should be the proportion between the length
of the palm itself and the length of the middle finger. This proportion
is of importance because it has certain human characteristics; as a
matter of fact, in the anthropoid apes the metacarpus is much longer
than the fingers and the palm has a far lower index than that of man.
In degenerates (thieves) the hand is frequently narrow and long.
_The Proportions of the Fingers._--If the first and second
articulations of the fingers are flexed, leaving the third extended, we
find that the extremity of the middle finger reaches to the point where
the thenar and _hypothenar_ eminences (fleshy prominences at base of
palm) are nearest to each other.
This basic point is only approximate and serves to tell us whether the
middle finger is normal. The middle finger serves as a measure for the
others, as follows:
The _index-finger_ reaches to the base of the nail of the middle finger.
The _thumb_, to the middle of the first phalanx of the middle finger.
The _ring finger_, to the middle of the nail of the middle finger.[47]
The _little finger_, to the third articulation of the ring finger.
It often happens that the development of the ulnar side of the
hand--the little finger, or both little and ring finger together--is
defective. Sometimes the little finger is not only extremely small,
but a special malformation renders it shorter still when the hand
is open; the second phalanx remains flexed, and cannot be extended.
Combined with the shortness of such fingers there is also an extreme
slenderness--_cubital oligodactylia_. It is a far rarer thing to find
similar anomalies in the case of the index-finger. The thumb, on the
contrary, is sometimes extremely short, in consequence of which it has
slight opposability.
_Functional Characteristics._--What characterises the functional action
of the human hand is the opposability of the thumb. There ought to be
a perfect movement of opposability of the thumb in respect to all the
other fingers; but many imbecile children accomplish this movement
imperfectly. The mobility of the thumb is associated with a group of
muscles situated at its base which forms the great tenar eminence of
the palm, opposite which, in corresponding relation to the little
finger is the small hypothenar eminence. An insufficient development of
these palmar eminences represents a serious malformation, which entails
functional disturbances. The hand of the monkey is flat.
_The Nails._--We have already seen that in the high type of hand the
nails should be convex and long, and that in the low type, on the
contrary, they are short and flat.
The normal nail should extend to an even level with the fingertip.
Manual labour should normally serve the purpose of keeping the nails
worn down; but we, who are not hand-labourers, must use the scissors,
in order to maintain the normal state.
For, if they were not worn down, the nails would attain an enormous
length, like the nails of certain kings of savage tribes, who as
a badge of authority have such long nails that their hands are
necessarily kept motionless; these kings must in consequence be waited
on, even for the smallest need, and actually become the slaves of their
own nails, which might be shattered by any sudden movement on the
part of their royal possessor. Long nails, therefore, are a sign of
idleness, while at the same time they demand a great deal of attention.
Accordingly, let us repudiate the fashion of long nails.
As a form of anomaly, we sometimes meet with nails of such exaggerated
length that they have the aspect of claws--_onychogryposis_; or,
again, an almost total absence of nails, which are reduced to a narrow
transverse strip--this characteristic is often found in idiots, and is
aggravated by the fact that from childhood such persons have had the
habit of "biting their nails."
Sometimes the nails are exceedingly dense, or actually consist of
several superimposed layers, so rich in pigment that they lose their
characteristic transparency.
This condition is due to trophic disorders of the nails.
_Teratology and Various Anomalies._--There are certain monstrosities
that sometimes occur in connection with the hand, such as
_hexadactylism_ and _polydactylism_, or hands with six or more fingers;
or else hands with less than five fingers--_syndactylism_. There may
even be a congenital absence of a phalanx, with a consequent notable
shortness of the finger--_brachydactylism_.
Another sort of anomaly frequently found in deficients consists of an
excessive development of the interdigital membrane, to the extent of
giving the hand the appearance of being web-fingered. An anomaly of
minor importance consists in a distortion of the fingers; the little
finger has one of its phalanges turned backward. All the fingers ought
to be in contact throughout their whole length, and not leave open
spaces between them.
_Lines of the Palms._--The lines of the palms, which used to be of so
much importance in chiromancy, are now taken into consideration even in
anthropology, being studied in normal and abnormal man, and also in the
hands of monkeys. The lines of the palms are three in number. The one
which follows the curve of the tenar eminence is known in chiromancy
as the line of life, and, if long, deep and unbroken, was supposed to
denote good health and the prospect of a long life; in anthropology it
is called the _biological line_. The second crease, which ought to meet
the former between the thumb and the index-finger, is the line of the
head, or _cephalic line_, and in chiromancy its union with the line of
life was supposed to denote a well-balanced character.
The line highest up, which begins between the index- and middle
finger and extends to the extreme margin of the palm, is the line of
the heart or the _cardiac line_, which in chiromancy is supposed to
indicate the emotional development of the individual. These lines taken
together form a semblance of the letter M, and are characteristically
and gracefully curved. It is considered as an anomaly, to be met with
among degenerates and even in mongoloid idiots, to lack any of these
lines (numerical reduction) or to have their arrangement distinctly
horizontal, and reminiscent of the hand of the monkey.
If we trace backward in the zoological scale, we find as a matter of
fact that to begin with, there were no lines in the palms, and then
there appeared a single crease high up, such as we still find in the
Cebus. In the human hand Carrara has recently made a study of these
anomalies, distinguishing several types. In the first type there is
a single transverse furrow. In the second type there are two furrows
which, however, follow a definitely straight and horizontal direction
and consequently are parallel. In a third type a single transverse
furrow is associated with a very deep longitudinal furrow running from
the carpus to the base of the index- and middle finger--a form that
Carrara has found only in criminals. Nevertheless, many idiots exhibit
a similar longitudinal furrow, due to a peculiar development of the
palmar aponeurosis.
[Illustration: FIG. 129.--Imprint of human hand, showing papillary
lines on palm and fingers.]
The disposition of the furrows in the palm is not strictly symmetrical
in the two hands; in fact, it is said in chiromancy that the right hand
represents our natural character, and our left hand the character which
we have acquired in the course of living.
_Papillary Lines._--For some time past the papillary lines have
been attracting the attention of students, in regard to their
earliest appearance (in the zoological scale), their disposition and
complications. They were already spoken of by Malpighi and Purkinje.
Alix has investigated the first appearance, in the animal scale, of
these lines in the thoracic and pelvic limbs, and concludes: "The
greater or lesser development of the papillary lines seems to bear a
relation to the higher or lower position of the group to which the
animal belongs, the perfection of its hand and the degree of its
intelligence."
Morselli has studied the disposition of these lines in monkeys. We know
that the papillary lines bear a relation to the exquisite delicacy
of the sense of touch. The primates (higher apes) have on their
finger-tips patterns that are far simpler than our own, resembling
geometric figures, among which the principal ones are the triangle,
the circle, and forms resembling the cross-section of an onion. In
the normal human hand, on the contrary, it should be impossible to
distinguish any closed figure. The resulting designs, which are very
fine and complicated, are not uniform on all the fingers, but differ
from finger to finger in proportion to the degree of evolution in a
given hand. For example, there is a certain uniformity of design in
cases of arrested mental development (imbeciles, epileptics, etc.).
This variety of designs produces individual characteristics which are
utilized in criminal anthropology for purposes of identification;
hence, it is highly important to be able to take impressions of the
papillary lines.
Professor Sante de Sanctis has quite recently invented a practical
method of preserving papillary imprints by the aid of photography.
FOOTNOTES:
[47] Many authorities maintain that the normal relation between the
index and ring finger is the reverse of that given above; abundant
examples occur in favor of each of these views.