PREFACE. 7 



The same remarks apply of course to other groups of 

 organs. Each chapter, therefore, with the exceptions 

 named, has been arranged so as to include a number 

 of regions or sets of organs which can be conveniently 

 dissected upon one animal. If there is not sufficient 

 time for a class to do the whole chapter, there is no 

 obstacle in the way to prevent the teacher from select- 

 ing the most important parts and omitting the others. 



In the use of terms denoting directions and relations 

 it has been thought best to employ the usual nomen- 

 clature rather than to adopt the more recent and more 

 exact designations proposed by various authors. These 

 latter are not as yet current in general anatomical 

 literature or standard anatomies; indeed it remains to 

 be seen which of those proposed will prove "the fittest." 

 It did not seem wise, then, to burden the beginner with 

 a discussion as to the use of terms, when in the great 

 majority of cases the terms in ordinary use are suffi- 

 ciently definite. The terms of direction made use of are: 

 anterior, meaning toward the head ; posterior, toward 

 the tail ; dorsal and ventral, with the usual significance ; 

 and right and left, inner and outer, with reference to 

 the mid-line of the body. 



In the directions for dissecting and in the descrip- 

 tive part of the text an effort has been made to avoid 

 unnecessary minuteness in the instructions. To a per- 

 son altogether ignorant of the methods of dissecting a 

 written description cannot fully supply the place of an 

 instructor; it is necessary and indeed better for him to 

 learn some things from experience. To students with 

 some little experience in the art of dissection, or work- 

 ing under the guidance of an instructor, it is a hin- 

 drance rather than an advantage to attempt to describe 

 just the direction and extent of each cut, the way in 



