Supernumerary leg in a male frog (Rana palustris) / by Frederick Tuckerman.

  • Tuckerman, Frederick, 1857-
Date:
[1886]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Supernumerary leg in a male frog (Rana palustris) / by Frederick Tuckerman. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Dlt FREDERICK TUCKERMAN. completely filled by a mass of muscle to which the tendons belonged, and in which the vessels ramified. Neither bone (femur) nor cartilage were present at this point. The second constricted portion, smaller and narrower than the first, con- tained the tendons, vessels, and nerve, which it conveyed to the parts beyond. Within the large oval-shaped sac was a bundle of muscles running the entire length of it. There were no adhesions uniting the skin to the subjacent parts except at the ends. Two-thirds of the space not occupied by muscles was filled with a yellowish-red fluid, having a slightly acid reaction, and quite rich in red and colourless blood-corpuscles. The muscles were somewhat smaller than usual, and a few were wanting; but otherwise they presented no special variations from those found in this region. The gastrocnemius, tibialis posticus, peroneus, and tibialis anticus were easily distinguished. On cutting away the muscles a bone (crus) was brought into view. The shaft was long, cylindrical, and very slender. No groove was detected indicating the line of union between the fibula and tibia. The articular expansion at the inferior extre- mity was very large and out of proportion to the shaft above it. This formed a movable joint with the articular process of the bone below it. At the superior end of the shaft was an articular process, quite small, which had only a tendinous connection with the region above it. In the proximal tarsal region the skin adhered quite firmly to the parts below it. The muscles were much atrophied, and the vessels and nerves could not be clearly followed. In place of the usual two elongated bones (astragalus and calcaneum), connected above and below by epiphyses, there was a single long bone, unmarked by any longitudinal groove, articulating slightly with the ankylosed (?) tibia and fibula. At the distal end of the bone no extra ossicles were found. The right digit was composed of a metatarsal bone and two phalanges. The inner digit (would be the fourth counting from the Jiallux), the longer, consisted of a metatarsal bone and three phalanges. The rudiment corresponded to the middle digit. From this description it will be seeu that the foot belonged to the right side of the body, although the limb sprang from the left side.