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DEFINITION. - Wormian bones may be defined as those accidental or intercalated bones found in the cranium having no regular relation to its normal ossific centres. They are of frequent occurrence in man, and generally occupy the sutures. In other animals they occur with much greater rarity. Synonyms. - According to discoverer, ossicula Andernaci, ossa Groethiano; shape, ossa triquetra, ossa triangularis, ossa quadratum; location, suturaux, fontanellaires, insules, intercalaria, raphogeminantia, apicis; function, complementaria, ossa accessorii. Schaltknochen and Nahtknochen are the terms in common use by the German writers, while the French writers have occasionally called them clefs de voute, or keys of the vault. One occupying the upper part of the occipital bone, the subject of considerable controversy among the anthropologists of the latter part of the last century, is frequently alluded to as the os epactal, or os Inca. The latter name originated with the description of Tschudy, who, with Rivero, considered It a special racial characteristic of the ancient Peruvians - a contention, however, that was soon completely refuted by the larger observations of Jacquart, showing its more comprehensive generic value, and its occurrence in others than the Incas, and its very frequent absence in the race of which it was supposed to be characteristic. HISTORY. Occurring so frequently, and Often of considerable size, they were no doubt noticed by many observers long before we had specific accounts of them. The first special description we have of them is by Olaus Worm, a Danish anatomist, 1588-1654, who described them at some length in a letter to Thomas Bartholin. In turn Bartholin named them Ossa Wormiana, their present name. As this letter is of historical importance in establishing the author's claim to priority of description it is introduced into evidence here. The few prefatory and closing remarks are of course not relevant here, but the complete text is given to avoid mistakes that have occurred in partial transcriptions. * * * * Thomae Bartholini epistolarum medicinalium, a doctis vel ad doctos scriptarum, centuria I. Hagae Comitum, apud PetrumGosse, bibliopolam, MDCCXL. 9 1., 416 pp. sm. 8. pp. 122-124. EPISTOLA XXIX. De ossiculis in sutura lambdoidea. Thomae Bartholino. Patavium. Librum tuum de Luce Viventium videndi maximo teneor desiderio. Omnibus innatum lumen, unde ortum trahat, cur se in tam paucis prodat, scire gestit aaimus. Cocui historiam eleganter tradidit Moufettus in Theatre Insectorum lib. I. cap. 15. quem si consulueris, invenies quae ad rem faciant; etiam de liquore ex lis praeparato, noctu lucente.....

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