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which is supposed to be impregnated by it, although it may have lost no weight in the operation."

The above extracts, we repeat, are interesting to medical readers, but are ill-fitted for general perusal.

CRANIA ÆGYPTIACA; OR OBSERVATIONS ON EGYPTIAN ETHNOGRAPHY, DERIVED FROM ANATOMY, HISTORY, AND THE MoNUMENTS. By Samuel George Morton, M.D. Author of Crania Americana, &c. &c. Philadelphia, 1844. London, Madden and Co.

OUR readers will remember that, in a former number of this Journal, we gave some account of Dr. Morton's Researches on American Ethnography. He has lately taken a bolder flight, and explored the dark chambers of the Catacombs, the Pyramids, and the mouldering monuments of that Cradle of the Arts, that Parent of Civilization, that Land of Mystery-EGYPT. Were it not for the sepulchres of a country whose history confounds chronology, the very people who thronged her cities would be unknown to us. But those numberless vaults have given up their dead for ages past, and will for ages to come, to bear witness for themselves and their country. Little did the kings, queens, and magnates of Egypt believe or suspect that their carefully embalmed bodies would be sacreligiously unrolled and unswathed, thousands of years after sepulture, to gratify the curiosity of antiquarians, and embellish the walls of museums in countries of which they never heard even the names!

Notwithstanding the innumerable resurrections of mummies from their receptacles on the banks of the Nile, yet still the physical characteristics of the Ancient Egyptians are regarded with great diversity of opinion by the learned antiquarians, who variously refer them to the Jews, Arabs, Hindoos, Nubians, and even the Negroes. The details of organic structure have been involved in the same uncertainty-and the great problem is still unsolved-did Civilization ascend or descend the Nile? Did Egypt or Ethiopia give it origin? Our author was fortunate in the friendship and the industry of G. R. Gliddon, Esq. who resided long in Egypt, as Consul for the United States, and who, in the course of his travels, both in Egypt and Nubia, procured 137 human crania, of which 100 pertain to the ancient inhabitants of Egypt. Of these last, seventeen were sent to Dr. Morton through the medium of Clot Bey-who arranged them in two series, the Pharaonic and the Ptolemaic. The object of this, our author's memoir is, therefore, to throw some additional light on the questions above stated, and to ascertain, if possible, the Ethnographic characters of the primitive Egyptians-or, in other words, to point out their relative position among the races of men.

This investigation is carried on with most laborious industry, and illustrated by numerous-we had almost said innumerable, plates and wood

cuts, without the aid of which, the reasonings and arguments could not be understood. This memoir is so carefully worded-so terse and concentrated in itself-so constantly elucidated by the plates, that it is totally incapable of analysis or compression. Neither can we, by a series of extracts, convey anything like an idea of this vast investigation. One only extract can we make, shewing something like the plan of the curious and highly interesting volume before us.

EGYPTIAN ETHNOGRAPHY.

"It was remarked fifty years ago by the learned professor Blumenbach, that a principal requisite for an inquiry such as we now propose, would be a very careful technical examination of the skulls of mummies hitherto met with, together with an accurate comparison of these skulls with the monuments.' This is precisely the design I have in view in the following memoir, which I therefore commence by an analysis of the characters of all the crania now in my possession. These may be referred to two of the great races of men, the CAUCASIAN and the NEGRO, although there is a remarkable disparity in the number of each. The Caucasian heads also vary so much among themselves as to present several different types of this race, which may, perhaps, be appropriately grouped under the following designations :

CAUCASIAN RACE.

"1. The Pelasgic Type. In this division I place those heads which present the finest conformation, as seen in the Caucasian nations of western Asia, and middle and southern Europe. The Pelasgic lineaments are familiar to us in the beautiful models of Grecian art, which are remarkable for the volume of the head in comparison with that of the face, the large facial angle, and the symmetry and delicacy of the whole osteological structure.

"2. The Semitic Type, as seen in the Hebrew communities, is marked by a comparatively receding forehead, long, arched, and very prominent nose, a marked distance between the eyes, a low heavy broad, and strong and often harsh development of the whole facial structure.

"3. The Egyptian form differs from the Pelasgic in having a narrower and more receding forehead, while the face being more prominent, the facial angle is consequently less. The nose is straight or aquiline, the face angular, the features often sharp, and the hair uniformly long, soft, and curling. In this series of crania I include many of which the conformation is not appreciably different from that of the Arab and Hindoo; but I have not, as a rule, attempted to note these distinctions, although they are so marked as to have induced me, in the early stage of the investigation, and for reasons which will appear in the sequel, to group them, together with the proper Egyptian form, under the provisional name of Austral-Egyptian crania. I now, however, propose to restrict the latter term to those Caucasian communities which inhabited the Nilotic valley above Egypt. Among the Caucasian crania are some which appear to blend the Egyptian and Pelasgic characters: these might be called Egypto-Pelasgic heads; but without making use of this term, except in a very few instances by way of illustration, I have thought best to transfer these examples from the Pelasgic group to the Egyptian, inasmuch as they so far conform to the latter series as to be identified without difficulty.

NEGRO RACE.

"The true Negro conformation requires no comment; but it is necessary to

observe that a practised eye readily detects a few heads with decidedly mixed characters, in which those of the Negro predominate. For these I propose the name of Negroid crania; for while the osteological development is more or less that of the Negro, the hair is long but sometimes harsh, thus indicating that combination of features which is familiar in the mulatto grades of the present day. It is proper, however, to remark in relation to the whole series of crania, that while the greater part is readily referrible to some one of the above subdivisions, there remain other examples in which the Caucasian traits predominate, but are partially blended with those of the Negro, which last modify both the structure and expression of the head and face.

، We proceed, in the next place, to analyze these crania individually, arranging them, for the purpose of convenience, into seven series, according to their sepulchral localities, beginning with the Necropolis of Memphis in the north." 4.

We strongly recommend Dr. Webster's volume to the perusal of every one who is curious respecting the races that have lived and died in the Valley of the Nile.

PHYSIOLOGISCHE,

PATHOLOGISCHE UND MEDICINISCH-PRACTISCHE UNTERSUCHUNGEN UBER DIE SPINAL IRRITATION. Von Dr. Stilling. Leipzig, 1840.

Physiological, Pathological, and Practical Investigations regarding Spinal Irritation.

ABHANDLUNG UBER SPINAL IRRITATION. Von Dr. Ludwig Türck. Vienna, 1843.

Treatise on Spinal Irritation.

WE find that the latter of the above works contains in itself a very neat and succinct analysis of the former, which was sent into the world in 1840 by Dr. Stilling, who is now celebrated for his writings on nervous disorders in general.

It has been recently observed, that in certain of the neuroses, more especially in hysterical states, a greater or less extent of surface of the parts along the vertebral column becomes painful on pressure and on being touched with a hot sponge; it was also observed that these states were frequently removed, or at least considerably relieved, by abstraction of blood, counter-irritation, &c. along the painful vertebrae; this very naturally led medical men to seek the cause of those nervous symptoms in a state of irritation of the spinal marrow; the affection itself receiving the name of spinal irritation. Among others, Dr. Türck was led to institute a series of observations on this subject, the results of which are given in the volume now before us. The cases where the spinal irritation is to be considered merely as a reflexion of other diseases existing in the organism he treats of under the head of " Symptomatic Spinal Irritation;" whilst those cases wherein this affection still continues after the extinction of

the primary disease, or where its dependence on some disease existing elsewhere cannot be demonstrated, he treats of under the title of "Idiopathic Spinal Irritation." The exposition of the facts observed by him is followed by an investigation into their nature. We shall here present to our readers a concentrated analysis of this volume. It was already observed by several that by pressure, even by mere rubbing of the sensitive parts along the spinal column, some symptoms present in spinal-irritation were aggravated; this has been observed with respect to pains in the head and in the eyes, in the scrobiculus cordis and chest, with respect also to cough, a sensation of cold, stiffness of the arms, and pain in the neck, also in some cases, which belong to the division under idiopathic spinal irritation. The aggravation or recalling of symptoms by vertebral pressure, the author designates in his treatise by the term " reflexion," and the parts along the vertebral column, where the pressure produced this effect, he calls reflex-parts.

FIRST SECTION.

1. Symptomatic Spinal Irritation.

A. Diseases of the Digestive Apparatus.—In some cases of caries of the back and incisor teeth and in inflammation of the gum, the pains were reflected through the second down to the third cervical vertebra and the soft parts adjacent to the affected side. In gangrene of the mouth connected with violent inflammation in consequence of swallowing sulphuric acid, the painful constriction behind the larynx was reflected through the fourth to the sixth cervical vertebra. In gastricism, febris gastrica, the frontal and supra-orbital pain was reflected through the superior fourth down to the fifth cervical vertebra, attended on one occasion with a peculiar disagreeable sensation in the stomach and a disposition to vomit. In another case, the disagreeable sensation in the stomach was reflected through the last cervical and first dorsal vertebrae. Acute, pungent pains of a higher degree in the epigastrium were reflected with great sensibility to external pressure through the last third or fourth dorsal vertebra; where the pains were less, this did not occur. On one occasion temporary numbness of the left arm was present. In a case of sporadic cholera in a hysterical patient, violent, colicky, constringing pains, increased on pressure, were felt all around the abdomen, which were reflected with severe pungency in the last ribs of the left side through the very sensitive lumbar vertebræ; the respiration was frequent, there was frequent, dry cough and dyspnoea at the same time, the last with reflexion through the inferior half of the dorsal vertebræ; pulse not very frequent, urine pale. In typhus, vertigo, tinnitus aurium and head-ache were reflected through the superior half of the cervical vertebræ. The sensation of dryness of the tongue and thirst were increased once or twice by pressure on from the fourth to the sixth cervical vertebræ; the pasty, bad taste in the case of loaded tongue in the first stage of the disease was on one occasion almost entirely removed thereby. Delirium, feeling of weakness, tremors and singultus were without any reflexion. In inflammation of the peritoneal covering of the liver, in increased sensibility, and tenseness in the region of the left lobe, with icteric and gastric phenomena, the acute pain in the right humeral and clavicular No. LXXXI.

C

region and numbness of one extremity was reflected twice through the fourth and fifth dorsal vertebræ, once through the last cervical vertebra; in the same case also the pain in the hepatic region was reflected through the first dorsal vertebra.

B. Diseases of the Organs of Respiration and Circulation.-Dryness, pungent pain in the larynx, as also hoarseness, which accompanied the other symptoms in tuberculosis, were reflected through the fourth or fifth last cervical vertebræ. Tickling at the bifurcation of the bronchi, and teazing cough, such as attends catarrh and tuberculated lungs, were reflected through from the third to the seventh cervical vertebræ. The headsymptoms observed most frequently in pneumonia were: acute pain in the fore-head and temples, heaviness in the frontal region, tinnitus aurium, with reflexion through the superior cervical vertebra, at most as far as the fifth; delirium with vertebral reflexion. If several of these were present at the same time, and were reflected by pressure on one and the same place, then, when great debility was present, with dryness and heat of tongue and skin, they formed the perfect idea of the so-called nervous state. In one case there was, with acute pain in the frontal region, intolerance of light, a sensation of pressure and heat in the eyes, the latter symptoms attended with reflexion through the last cervical vertebræ; in another case, the sensation of itching in the thoracic region on the side corresponding to the seat of the pneumonia, with reflexion through the last cervical vertebra, on two occasions vertigo with reflexion through the highest part of the vertebral column beneath the occiput; on one occasion, a rising of heat in the cheek with reflexion through the first dorsal vertebra. Pungent pain at the sternal extremities of from the second to the sixth costal cartilage combined with the sensation of pressure at the same places and at the sternum, was frequently increased on pinching the skin of those parts, and felt as if it were deeply seated; further it came along the cartilaginous margins of the false ribs; lastly in an extent of from one to two inches in length at the free extremities of the last ribs, once at the inferior margin of the seventh and eighth ribs along their entire course, the intercostal spaces being free from pain, once only at the curvature of the sixth and seventh ribs; it was generally increased by pressure on the painful parts, and was reflected through the vertebræ corresponding to the ribs affected over these and through the adjacent soft parts. The sensation of pressure on the sternum, commonly on one or both margins of the same, and on the sternal ends of from the second to the ninth costal cartilage, which was frequently combined with acute pains in these parts, was, as well as the latter, reflected through the corresponding dorsal vertebra. In two cases dyspnoea, where it was the only subjective thoracic symptom, was reflected through the inferior cervical and superior dorsal vertebræ, in one of these cases the reflexibility extended from here downwards as far the inferior dorsal vertebræ ; it occurred in general accompanied by pain and pressure on the chest, and was reflected along with them; frequently the reflexibility for the dyspnoea was more extended than for the other thoracie symptoms; it was, however, almost invariably greatest at the last cervical and superior dorsal vertebræ. The author observed, both in pneumonia as well as in other diseases connected with dyspnoea, that by pressing on the

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