WHAT IS TOLD BY A MAN'S BONES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 133, 3 July 1909, Page 4

WHAT IS TOLD BY A MAN'S BONES

Taking advanlagc of the possibility of determining indirectly the (mineral content of bones in human being by means of their opacity to Kontgcn rays, Professor Charles Henry has boon examining the hands of many people of different ages in order to verify the law of Flourens.

According to the law of Flourcns, the duration of the period of growth'bears a definite relation to longevity, a|id, in particular, the time occupied bj any animal in attaining its maximum stature is a deliuitc fraction,' constant for all the individuals of the species, of the duration of the animal's lifie.

The maximum stature is attained 'siiuitltaueoiisly ivith the inaximijim of development of, the skeleton, and lis' the weight of the skeleton is in proportion to the amount of mineral salts w'hieh it. contains, the law may be expressed in a more mathematical form by slaying that the percentage of mineral' sa|lts in the bones of all animals of the i same species may be represented by similar curves of growth and decline which will .differ solely in the values of individual units. .''•,.

The degree of opacity of the 'bones indicates thus the degree of maturity of the individual. From his examination of subjects at different ages, Professor Henry with bis ljoutgcn ray apparatus, modified by photographic plates, lias' deduced a maximum opneity at from thirty to thirty-two years (the age at which the height and weight normally reach their greatest limits), and a minimum opacity of forty-five years. . Analysis of the ashes of bones of deceased persons of various ngijs and both sexes confirms the results arrived at by Professor (lenry, | ] Tt will in time, it is predicted, bje possible to calculate the expectation p( life of any individual by these tests of bone opacity, and even to'establish life insurance premiums upon a more jequitnhle basis than mortality statis'tjes afford, i