THE MICROSCOPE. 155 



out with the microscope, and the contagious material of more than 

 one contagious malady had actually figured in the report which he 

 there criticised." Notwithstanding the ridiculing by f J. Milner 

 Fothergill of the great discovery by Dr. Rudolph Koch of the 

 specific tubercular bacterium, such men as Prof. Tyndall are reported 

 as placing it among the greatest discoveries of science. It is unfor- 

 tunate that this subject which opens up such great hopes for the 

 future of microscopic science has not been brought before your 

 society, and the interesting experiments by which these specific 

 bacteria were singled out made known to you. It had been my in- 

 tention to detail to-night the methods by which Dr. Koch arrived at 

 the results, which have somewhat startled the medical world, but 

 time will not now permit. 



My purpose has been to show that in and around the use of the 

 microscope there exists most important reasons why our medical 

 schools which have not already done so, should add this subject to 

 their curriculum at the earliest moment. But while urging this step 

 it would be well to convince my readers that these views are not 

 entirely chimerical, as the advanced schools enable me to show. 

 Before graduating from the medical college at Ann Arbor, Univer- 

 sity of Michigan, each student is obliged to pass a satisfactory ex- 

 amination in Histology and Microscopy and complete a course of 

 practical work in the "Histological laboratory." When the student 

 enters the Histological laboratory he is supposed to have a 

 theoretical knowledge of the structure of tissues and of the 

 use of the microscope obtained from the lectures. One afternoon 

 of each week is devoted to the microscope, each student having the 

 use of an instrument to himself. During the term he has 

 fifteen lessons. Each afternoon opens with a quiz upon the last 

 lesson and with a full explanation of the afternoon's work. The 

 student then endeavors to carry out the directions of his in- 

 structor. In these lessons the following subjects are considered : 

 Fibres, dust, starch, etc., blood, bone, cartilage, yellow elastic, white 

 fibrous tissue, muscle, stomach, intestine, liver, kidney, spinal cord, 

 brain and a few others. 



Two hundred and ninety students took this required course last 

 year. Some six thousand specimens were prepared and mounted 

 by these students, all in a more or less creditable manner. In addi- 



tMedical Record, Aug. 26, 1882, p. 252. 



