Fig. 18.—Appendix vermiformis in Orang and in Man. Drawn from dried inflated specimens in the Cambridge Museum by Mr. J. J. Lister. Il, ilium; Co, colon; C, cæcum; W, a window cut in the wall of the cæcum; X X X, the appendix.
Fig. 19.—The same, showing variation in the Orang. Drawn from a specimen in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.
Like vestigial structures in general, however, this one is highly variable. Thus the above cut (Fig. 19) serves to show that it may sometimes be almost as short in the orang as it normally is in man—both the human subjects of this illustration having been normal.
(7) Ear.—Mr. Darwin writes:—
The celebrated sculptor, Mr. Woolner, informs me of one little peculiarity in the external ear, which he has often observed both
Fig. 20.—Human ear, modelled and drawn by Mr. Woolner. a, the projecting point. in men and women.... The peculiarity consists in a little blunt point, projecting from the inwardly folded margin, or helix. When present, it is developed at birth, and, according to Prof. Ludwig Meyer, more frequently in man than in woman. Mr. Woolner made an exact model of one such case, and sent me the accompanying drawing.... The helix obviously consists of the extreme margin of the ear folded inwards; and the folding appears to be in some manner connected with the whole external ear being permanently pressed backwards. In many monkeys, which do not stand high in the order, as baboons and some species of macacus, the upper portion of the ear is slightly pointed, and the margin is not at all folded inwards; but if the margin were to be thus folded, a slight point would necessarily project towards the centre.... The following wood-cut is an accurate copy of a photograph of the fœtus of an orang (kindly sent me by Dr. Nitsche), in which it may be seen how different the pointed outline of the ear is at this period from its adult condition, when it bears a close general resemblance to that of man [including even the occasional appearance of the projecting point shown in the preceding woodcut]. It is evident that the folding over of the tip of such an ear, unless it changed greatly during its further development, would give rise to a point projecting inwards[8].