PREFACE. f 
The same remarks apply of course to other groups of 
organs. Each chapter, therefore, with the exceptions 
named, has been arranged so as to include a number 
of regions or sets of organs which can be conveniently 
dissected upon one animal. If there is not sufficient 
time for a class to do the whole chapter, there is no 
obstacle in the way to prevent the teacher from select- 
ing the most important parts and omitting the others. 
In the use of terms denoting directions and relations 
it has been thought best to employ the usual nomen- 
clature rather than to adopt the more recent and more 
exact designations proposed by various authors. These 
latter are not as yet current in general anatomical 
literature or standard anatomies; indeed it remains to 
be seen which of those proposed will prove ‘‘the fittest.” 
It did not seem wise, then, to burden the beginner with 
a discussion as to the use of terms, when in the great 
majority of cases the terms in ordinary use are suffi- 
ciently definite. The terms of direction made use of are: 
anterior, meaning toward the head; posterior, toward 
the tail ; dorsal and ventral, with the usual significance ; 
and right and left, inner and outer, with reference to 
the mid-line of the body. 
In the directions for dissecting and in the descrip- 
tive part of the text an effort has been made to avoid 
unnecessary minuteness in the instructions. To a per- 
son altogether ignorant of the methods of dissecting a 
written description cannot fully supply the place of an 
instructor ; it is necessary and indeed better for him to 
learn some things from experience. To students with 
some little experience in the art of dissection, or work- 
ing under the guidance of an instructor, it is a hin- 
drance rather than an advantage to attempt to describe 
just the direction and extent of each cut, the way in 
