Remarks on the Morphology of the Lumbar, Sacral, and Caudal
Regions of the Panjabi.

BY

R. HAVELOCK CHARLES, M.D., M.CH., F.R.C.S.,I., F.Z.S.,

SURGEON-CAPTAIN, BENGAL MEDICAL SERVICE; PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY, MEDICAL COLLEGE, LAHORE;
SURGEON, MAYO HOSPITAL, LAHORE; FELLOW OF THE PANJAB UNIVERSITY.

   The following remarks are founded on the examination of material received
in the Anatomical Department of the Lahore Medical College. The " subjects "
come, as in Europe, from the poor or friendless. Amongst these one meets
with very many different types. In fact they are flotsam and jetsam, consisting
of fragments derived from several races and castes, from the aboriginal or black
variety to the individual of so-called Aryan descent.

The Lumbar Vertebrae of the Panjabi.

   The lumbar region presents certain characteristics distinguishing it from
the ordinary European type. For sake of convenience I shall note these
serially

   (1) As to the relation of the anterior and posterior vertical diameters of the
vertebræ.

   (2) As to the size and thickness of the intervertebral discs.

   (3) As to the prevalence of a straight or very slightly convex lumbar curve.

   (4) As to the large size of the accessory processes especially, in the 5th
vertebra.

   (5) An imperfection in development.

   1. The vertical anterior and posterior diameters. —In upwards of 75 per
cent. of adult bones, the bodies are thicker behind than in front. In children
the diameters are almost equal. When there is any difference it is generally
in favour of the anterior measurement; but, as age advances, the posterior
altitude increases more than the anterior, till, in the adult bone, it is ordinarily
greatest, and, in the aged, the disparity is very pronounced. The younger the
skeleton the less is the variance between the front and back measurements.

   Why is this ? Most probably, as Sir William Turner has pointed out, it is
due to peculiarity in habits and customs. Here, in the East, where a great part