Aristotle's History of Animals: In Ten Books — Aristotle — John Shaqi
Aristotle's History of Animals: In Ten Books
Aristotle · en
6. We have previously treated of the trunk. The hinder part of the
breast is called the back: the parts of the back are two shoulder
blades and the back-bone; below the thorax, and opposite the stomach,
are the loins; the ribs belong both to the back and the front of the
trunk, and are eight on each side, for we have never heard anything
worthy of credit concerning the Ligyes, who are said to have seven ribs.
CHAPTER XI.
1. Man has upper and lower side, the front and the back, and right and
left side. The right and the left are nearly alike in their parts and
in every particular, except that the left side is the weaker; but the
back parts are not like the front; nor the lower parts to the upper,
except in this particular, that the parts below the hypogastric region
are full-fleshed or lean in proportion to the face, and the arms also
answer to the proportion of the legs. Those persons who have a short
humerus have also generally a short thigh: those who have small feet
have also small hands.
2. One of the double parts of the body is the arm. The parts of the arm
are the shoulder, humerus, elbow, cubitus, and the hand; the parts of
the hand are the palm and five fingers; the jointed part of the finger
is the condyle, the unjointed part the phalanx. The thumb has but one
joint, all the rest have two. The bending of the arm and finger is
always inwards. The arm is also bent at the elbow: the inner part of
the hand is called the palm; it is fleshy, and divided by strong lines.
Long-lived persons have one or two lines which extend through the whole
hand; short-lived persons have two lines not extending through the
whole hand. The joint of the hand and arm is the wrist. The outside of
the hand is sinewy, and has not received any name.
3. The other double part of the body is the leg. The double-headed
part of the leg is called the thigh, the moveable part is called the
patella, that which has two bones the tibia; the front of this part
is the shin, the hind part the calf of the leg. The flesh is full of
sinews and veins; in those persons who have large hips, the flesh is
drawn upwards towards the hollow part under the knee, in those who
have not it is drawn down. The lowest part of the shin is the ankle,
and this is double in each leg. The part of the leg with many bones is
called the foot, the hind part of which is the heel. The front part is
divided into five toes; the under part, which is fleshy, is called the
sole of the foot; the upper part, (the instep,) is sinewy, and has not
received any name. One part of the toe is the nail, the other is the
joint; the nail is on the extremity of the toe, and the toes are bent
inwards. Those who have the sole of the foot thick, and not hollow, but
walk upon the whole of the foot, are knavish. The common joint of the
thigh and the leg is the knee.
CHAPTER XII.