The sense of touch, in mammals and birds, with special reference to the papillary ridges

ABSTRACT HAVING in a companion volume treated of the direction of the hair in animals Dr.Kidd, in the one now before us, turns his attention to the kindred subject of the structure adn

funcntion of the papillary ridges on the tactile surface of their hands and feet. Although the subject is by no means new, the author has studied it in a fuller manner than at least most of

his predecessors, and has a new theory with regard to the function of the ridges in the Primates, in which alone these structures attain full development. In monkeys, at any rate, it has

been generally considered that the main purpose of the rough surface produced by the papillary ridges is to ensure firm hold in grasping. Without denying that this may be a part of their

function, Dr. Kidd is, however, of opinion that there are other important uses, which vary in different groups. In man, for instance, the papillary ridges in the hand alone exercise the

function of discriminative sensibility, and those in the foot that of maintaining the equilibrium of the body, whereas in the lower Primates both functions are discharged by the ridges of

the two pairs of limbs, although sensibility is less marked in the front pair than in the human hand. The most interesting part of the author's conclusion relates, however, to the

papillary ridges of lemurs, which are much more complicated than those of apes and man, and are accordingly believed to be subservient to the necessity for special means of preserving the

equilibrium in the case of nocturnal creatures. The Sense of Touch, in Mammals and Birds, with Special Reference to the Papillary Ridges. By Dr. Walter Kidd. Pp. viii + 176; illustrated.

(London: A. and C. Black, 1907.) Price 5_s_. net. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS

Access through your institution Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Learn more Buy this article * Purchase on

SpringerLink * Instant access to full article PDF Buy now Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout ADDITIONAL ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about

institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support Authors * R. L. View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND

PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE L., R. _The Sense of Touch, in Mammals and Birds, with Special Reference to the Papillary Ridges_ . _Nature_ 76, 101

(1907). https://doi.org/10.1038/076101b0 Download citation * Issue Date: 30 May 1907 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/076101b0 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will

be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt

content-sharing initiative