PEEFACE 



The general lack of information upon the biologic 

 sciences has been responsible for much harm. Out- 

 side of the schools of science the teaching of these 

 subjects is but meager. To most people the great 

 world of animal life about them is filled with phenom- 

 ena of mystery, or it is viewed with indifference. 

 There is a particular dearth of information on the 

 part of the public concerning the medical sciences. 

 The meaning of physiology and how it is studied, 

 the means by which medicine and surgery are ad- 

 vanced, and the principles of experimental medicine 

 are matters upon which the public has little knowl- 

 edge. Indeed, many of the students of these subjects 

 accept information upon authority without knowing 

 with what pains and labor it was secured. It is be- 

 cause of this that misunderstandings develop between 

 scientific workers and the general public, and failures 

 arise on the part of the latter to comprehend what the 

 former are trying to do for it. 



Some day the natural sciences will be taught more 

 widely, and the world of facts about us will be under- 

 stood by a larger proportion of people. The funda- 

 mental principles of the medical sciences should be a 

 part of every one's education ; and health and disease 

 should be taught of as matters which are in the hands 

 of the individual rather than as visitations of fate. At 



