12 INTRODUCTION 



4. Applications of Zoology 



Some of the practical uses of a knowledge of zoology will become ap- 

 parent as the student proceeds through this text. Zoology is basic in many 

 ways to the fields of medicine and public health, agriculture, conserva- 

 tion and to certain of the social sciences. There are esthetic values in 

 the study of zoology, for a knowledge of the structure and functions of 

 the major types of animals will greatly increase the pleasure of a stroll 

 in the woods or an excursion along the seashore. Trips to zoos, 

 aquariums and museums are also rewarding in the glimpses they give 

 of the host of different kinds of animals. Many of these are beautifully 

 colored and shaped, graceful or amusing to watch, but all will mean 

 more to a person equipped with the basic knowledge of zoology which 

 enables him to recognize them and understand the ways in which they 

 are adapted to survive in their native habitat. 



Questions 



1. How would you define "science" and "zoology"? Is zoology a science? 



2. Contrast a hypothesis and a law. 



3. What is the role of theories in science? 



4. How would you catalogue the subsciences of zoology? 



5. Describe in your own words the mode of operation of the scientific method. 



6. Discuss the tests that would be necessary to prove that event A is the cause of event B. 



7. How may the method of concomitant variation be used to show cause-and-eftect re- 

 lationships? 



8. What is a "placebo"? How are they used in medical experiments? 



9. How would you go about proving that "aminodichloro sneezic acid" is a cure for 

 hay fever? 



10. What contributions to zoology were made by (a) Aristotle, (b) Galen, (c) Vesalius, 

 (d) William Harvey, (e) Leeuwenhoek, (f) von Baer, (g) Claude Bernard, (h) Georges 

 Cuvier and (i) Richard Owen? 



Supplementary Reading 



The scientific method and its application to research problems are discussed in 

 Conant's Science and Common Sense and Cohen's Science, Seiuant of Man. E. Bright Wil- 

 son's An Introduction to Scientific Research gives an excellent, nontechnical discussion 

 of the methods of science and some of the problems involved in conducting scientific in- 

 vestigations. W. B. Cannon's The Way of an Investigator gives some interesting examples 

 of the scientific method in medical research. 



The Scientific American has well written and illustrated articles on many phases 

 of zoology. Some of the outstanding articles have been collected and published in book 

 form as The Physics and Chemistry of Life. 



There are a number of fine books on the history of science. The development of the 

 sciences in general is described in Sedgwick, Tyler and Bigelow's A Short History of 

 Science. The early development of zoology is interestingly told in Nordenskiold's and 

 Singer's histories of biology. The History of Medicine written by Douglas Guthrie de- 

 scribes the beginnings of anatomy, physiology and bacteriology. Some of the important 

 ideas in zoology, presented by extensive quotations from the original papers, are found 

 in Gabriel and Vogel's Great Experiments in Biology and in T. S. Hall's A Source Book of 

 Animal Biology. 



