288 Journal of Comi>auati\e Neurology. 



that the present plan of study in the medical college is not 

 as extensive as it should be to furnish the technical skill and 

 exact knowledge which the profession demands. That human 

 physiology is largely comparative will be readily admitted, 

 but unless the student knows that the structures in the animal 

 experimented upon are strictly homologous with the struc- 

 tures in man the physiological experiment becomes merely 

 an illustrative exercise, interesting and instructive, but not a 

 demonstration of function in man. 



When it is shown that the nerve-supply is identical with 

 the nerve-supply in man, then these experiments in which 

 the nervous system is a controlling factor are conclusive 

 evidence in human physiology also; e.g.^ at this moment my 

 mind selects the elaborate experiments of Dr. H. P. Bow- 

 ditch upon the vaso-motor nerves, the results of which were 

 presented before Section F, A. A. A. S., Buffalo meeting, 

 1886. 



Among reasons for the selection of a small mammal may 

 be named the cost a*nd convenience of suitable preparation, 

 preservation and manipulation. In regard to cost, it should 

 be remembered that for exact work each individual should 

 dissect an entire body — the reserve half serving for corrobo- 

 ration, verification, correction of errors from accident or over- 

 sight, study of variations in the same individual, etc. The 

 writer found it a matter of no small expense and labor to 

 prepare and to preserve in alcohol the adult cadavers which 

 formed the basis of his studies in anthropotomy ; the conve- 

 nience of manipulation will be appreciated by those who 

 have had the experience of transferring a large adult cadaver 

 from tank to table. 



The adaptation of the domestic cat to the ends sought 

 (comparative neurology) may be briefly stated as follows: 



I. The readiness with which structures may be homolo- 

 gized with corresponding structures in man (certain nerves 

 in the dog are quite unlike those in man, e.g.^ vagi). That 

 there are marked differences between the human brain and 



