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IX. On the Use of the Word Homology in Comparative 

 Anatomy. By H. E. Strickland, M.A., F.G.S. 



To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Journal. 

 Gentlemen, 



WHEN I recommended in a recent paper on the Struc- 

 tural Relations of Organized Beings (p. 358), that 

 comparative anatomists should use the term offline or homolo- 

 gous In place of analogous, when speaking of structures which 

 essentially correspond in different organized beings, I was 

 quite aware, though I accidentally omitted to say so, that the 

 word homologous had been occasionally used in that sense. 

 I therefore by no means intended to imply that homologous 

 was a word of my own coining, but I merely expressed a wish 

 to see it, or its synonym qffine, adopted uniformly in a tech- 

 nical sense, where it had already been adopted partially. But 

 from what Prof. Owen says (p. 525), it is clear that the term 

 homology has only been introduced into this country in the 

 last four or five years, and by few if any authors besides him- 

 self. We may henceforth, however, hope to see the distinc- 

 tion between analogy and homology, a distinction clearly 

 comprehended by the mighty mind of Aristotle (Hist. Anim. 

 lib. i. c. 1.1, but which has been and still is very imperfectly 

 understood by many naturalists to the present time, become 

 every day more strongly impressed on the minds of students, 

 and implanted in their memories by exactness of definition 

 and of nomenclature. 



Of the two synonymous words affinity and homology, the 

 latter appears preferable, as being constructed on a similar plan 

 to its antithesis analogy. It is to be regretted therefore that 

 the modern zoologists, to whom we are indebted for the first 

 clear definitions on this subject, did not adopt the term ho- 

 mology instead of affinity, but the latter word is now so well 

 established in systematic zoology, that it is perhaps too late 

 to alter it. We may however be thankful to Prof. Owen for 

 having been the first to introduce the convenient and useful 

 word homology into the language of comparative anatomy in 

 this country, as well as for the philosophical definitions which 

 he has given of its several kinds. 



I am, Gentlemen, 



Your most obedient Servant, 

 Oxford, June 17, 1646. PL E. STRICKLAND. 



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