PREFACE. 



ALTHOUGH the cat has long been in common use for the 

 practical study of mammalian anatomy, a clear, correct, not 

 too voluminous account of its structure, such as should be in 

 the hands of students in the laboratory, has remained a 

 desideratum. A number of works have been published on the 

 cat, some of them of much value, yet there is none which 

 fulfils exactly the conditions mentioned. The books which 

 have appeared on this subject are the following: 



1. Strauss-Durckheim, H. Anatomic descriptive et com- 

 parative du Chat. 2 vols. Paris, 1845. 



2. Mivart, St. George. The Cat: an Introduction to the 

 Study of Back-boned Animals, especially Mammals. New 

 York, 1 88 1. 



3. Wilder, Burt G., and Gage, Simon H. Anatomical 

 Technology as applied to the Domestic Cat. New York, 1882. 



4. Gorham, F. P., and Tower, R. W. A Laboratory 

 Guide for the Dissection of the Cat. New York, 1895. 



5. Jayne, H. Mammalian Anatomy. Vol. I. Phila- 

 delphia, 1898. 



The first of these works treats only of the muscles and 

 bones, and is not available for American students. Its excel- 

 lent plates (or Williams's outline reproductions of the same) 

 should be in every laboratory. 



The second book named is written in such general terms 

 that its descriptions are not readily applicable to the actual 

 structures found in the dissection of the cat, and experience 

 has shown that it is not fitted for a laboratory handbook. It 

 contains, in addition to a general account of the anatomy of 

 the cat, also a discussion of its embryology, psychology, 

 palaeontology, and classification. 



