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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
lengths of the 'fingers , be says , the reason of this mechanism is , that the tops of the fingers may come to an equality . " When they lay hold of and grasp circularly any large body , they meet as it were in the circumference of a circle .
Each of the lower extremities comprises the thigh , the leg and the foot , and bears some analogy in the structure and distribution of its parts with the tipper extremities . * The thigh , like the arm , has but one bone , which is the longest in the whole body , and the largest and strongest of
all the round bones . The articulation of the thigh-bone with the trunk is secured by two strong ligaments ; one of these * grows out of the articulating cavity , and is inserted directly into the head of the bone : the other passes over the whole joint , embraces the bead of the thigh-bone as in a purse , and is inserted into this bone at its
» eck . This bone serves net only as a fixed point for performing several motions of the trunk , which it sustains like a pillar , but it also affords a base for the leg to carry on its own motions , and is principally concerned in walking , running , &c .
The leg is composed of three bones , two small ones r named the tibia and fibula , and a small one placed at the knee . : The tibia , so called from its resemblance to an old musical pipe , is the long triangular bone at the inside of the leg ; it runs nearly in a straight line
from the thigh-bone to the ankle , supporting the whole weight of the body , and has its upper end spread int large surface for receiving the lower end of the thigh-bone and forming the knee-joint . This articulation admits flexion and extension , and is secured
by very strong ligaments , to compensate for the weakness of its bony structure , arising from the flatness of the articulating surfaces . At the sides of
the joint the capsular ligament is peculiarly strong . The contrivance of a ligament within the cavity of the joint , and directly connecting the two bones , is improved upon by a striking adaptation to the necessities of the case .
Instead of one , there are two ligaments that cross each other , and , by a varied tension of each in different positions of the joint , they check its motions and secure its safety . Moreover , on the top of the tibia are placed two ntovedbte cajrtihigefc , of a crescent-like form .
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Their outward edges are thick , while their inward borders # re extremely thin , and they thus form a hollow in which the protuberances of the thighbone play with security , and with a
facility that is much increased by their loose connexions . The lower end of the tibia is articulated with the foot and forms the inner ankle . The fibula
is a long slender hone placed at the outside of the tibia : its head is connected to that bone by ligaments , but does not reach high enough to enter into the composition of the knee-joint * it lies along-side the tibia , some what
like a splint , increasing the strength of the leg " , and , like the double bone of the fore-arm , also completing its form . This bone descends to the foot , where it forms the external ankle , and is connected to thetibia * along-its whole length , by a broad thin ligament .
The knee-pan is a small thick bone , of an oval or rather triangular form . The base of the triangle is turned upwards , to receive the tendons of the great muscles which extend the Jeg ; the pointed part of this triangle is turned downwards ,, and is tied by a
very strong ligament to the upper part of the tibia , just under the knee . The pate'la or knee-pan is intended as a lever , for by removing the direction of the extensor-muscles of the leg farther fr om the centre of motion , it
enables them to act more powerfully in extending the limb : to facilitate its motions , its internal surface is smooth , covered with cartilage , and fitted to the pulley of the thigh-bone , upon which it moves .
The foot , like the hand , is divided into three parts , viz . the tarsus or instep , the metatarsus and the toes . The tarsus or instep is composed of seven bones , firmly bound together by strong ligaments , and forming an arch for supporting the body . The metatarsus
is composed of live bones , which correspond in their general character with the metacaipal bones of the hand . The bases of these bones rest upon the tarsus or instep , while their extremities support the toes . When we stand , the fore-ends of these bones and the
heel-bone are our only supporters . Each of the toes , like the fing ers , consists of three bones , excep t the great toe , which has only two bones . in walking , the toes bring the c entre of gravity perpendicular id the advanced foot * . <
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566 Natural Theology . No . IX . —Meehameal Arrangement of the B * dy
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1815, page 566, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1764/page/34/
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