130 PATHOLOGY 



pathologic observations, is equally true for pathologic and normal 

 anatomy. 



In connection with special anatomy it will suffice to refer to the 

 progress in the anatomy of the brain, especially to the course of its 

 fibers, in order to show how much pathology has contributed to the 

 knowledge of normal structure. The great progress which the fine 

 brain anatomy made in the last decades of the last century is due 

 in large part to pathologic observations, medical investigations, 

 methods conceived by physicians, and the result of investigations 

 has been brought forward in connected form, especially by medical 

 writers. 



The same is true, but even to a higher degree, of physiology, the 

 pathologic branch of which has unfortunately not received the 

 deserved recognition and fostering in every place as a separate 

 science, but which nevertheless has not been neglected by scientific 

 medicine. 



A large part of our knowledge of human physiology has been 

 obtained by the observations of functions changed by disease as they 

 appear as symptoms of disease in man or are produced artificially 

 by experiment on animals. Where would the physiology of the 

 brain be, if pathology had not made clear the position of the centres 

 and the course of the tracts from the constantly recurring symptoms 

 and lesions and pathologic experiment had not proved the correctness 

 of the conclusions which were drawn from human observations ? 



What would general cellular physiology be, if observation of the 

 behavior of cells under varying life conditions had not given us 

 information concerning the processes under normal conditions ? 1 Is 

 not general cellular physiology rather a product of cellular patho- 

 logy? Was it not a pathologist, R. Virchow, who introduced the 

 idea that the cell is the final form element of all vital phenomena, 

 and who arrived at this conclusion not least through pathologic 

 observations? 



From the deviations one recognizes most readily the law. There is 

 no problem of general biology which has not received enlightenment 

 and explanation from the experiences of pathology. The doctrine 

 of heredity, to name only a few of these problems, plays no small 

 role in pathology, and many cases of pathologic heredity throw 

 a clear light on the subject and nature of heredity in general. The 

 latest discoveries of pathology in the realm of hematology, the doc- 

 trine of agglutinins and precipitins, has already led to most valuable 

 revelations respecting the general biologic question of the blood 

 relationship of animals with one another, and of animals with man. 

 The blood of anthropoid apes ajnd man shows similar behaviors, 

 but differs from the blood of other animals. 



1 Verworn, A llgemeine Physiologie. 



