Darwin speaks of a person with a fleshy tail and
refers to a French article on human tails.
Science contains a description of a negro child born near
Louisville, eight weeks old, with a pedunculated tail 2 1/2
inches long, with a base 1 1/4 inches in circumference. The tail
resembled in shape a pig's tail and had grown 1/4 inch since
birth. It showed no signs of cartilage or bone, and had its
origin from a point slightly to the left of the median line and
about an inch above the end of the spinal column.
Dickinson recently reported the birth of a child with a tail. It
was a well-developed female between 5 1/2 and six pounds in
weight. The coccyx was covered with the skin on both the anterior
and posterior surfaces. It thus formed a tail of the size of the
nail of the little finger, with a length of nearly 3/16 inch on
the inner surface and 3/8 inch on the rear surface. This little
tip could be raised from the body and it slowly sank back.
In addition to the familiar caudal projection of the human fetus,
Dickinson mentions a group of other vestigial remains of a former
state of things. Briefly these are:--
(1) The plica semilunaris as a vestige of the nictitating
membrane of certain birds.
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