GENEEAL ANATOMY. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATION'S ON THE TEXTURES. 



Enumeration of the Textures. — The human body consists of 

 solids and fluids. Only the solid parts can be reckoned as textures, 

 properly so called ; still, as some of the fluids, viz. the blood, chyle, 

 and lymph, contain in suspension solid organised corpuscles of deter- 

 minate form and organic properties, and are not mere products or 

 secretions of a particular organ, or confined to a particular part, the 

 corpuscles of these fluids, though not coherent textures, are to be 

 looked upon as organised constituents of the body, and as such may 

 not improperly be considered along with the solid tissues. In con- 

 formity with this view the textures and other organised constituents of 

 the frame may be enumerated as follows : — 



The blood, chyle, and lymph. 



Epithelial tissue, including epitlielium, cuticle, nails, and hairs. 



Pigment. 

 Connective tissue, viz. 



Areolar tissue. 

 Adipose tissue. 



Fibrous tissue. 

 • Elastic tissue. 



Cartilage and its varieties. 

 Bone or osseous tissue. 

 Muscle. 

 Xerve. 



Blood-vessels. 



Lymphatic vessels and glands. 

 Serous and synovial membranes. 

 Mucous membrane. 

 Skin. 



Secreting glands. 

 Vascular or ductless glands. 



Organic Systems. — Every texture taken as a whole was viewed by 

 Bichat as constituting a peculiar system, presenting throughout its 

 whole extent in the body characters either the same, or modified only 

 so far as its local connections and uses render necessary ; he accordingly 

 used the term '• organic systems " to designate the textures taken in 

 this point of view, and the term was very generally employed by 

 succeeding writers. Of the tissues or organic systems enumerated 



VOL. II. B 



