PART I. 



A GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE STRUCTURE 



OF THE RABBIT. 



DIVISIONS AND METHODS. 



Biology, the science or study of living organisms, includes several 

 related sciences, the chief of which are Anatomy, the study of organized 

 structure ; Physiology, the study of function ; and Embryology, the study 

 of development. Anatomy, or Comparative Anatomy, the latter referring 

 to the comparative study of organisms, and Embryology are also 

 considered as divisions, or as practical methods, of Morphology, the 

 general science of the evolution of form. 



The term "Anatomy" was originally applied to the dissection or 

 study of the human body, and is still considered as referring more 

 especially to the latter. Even in the early stages of biological science, 

 however, the use of the term was extended to organisms generally; and 

 afterwards, chiefly as a result of the introduction of the microscope as a 

 new method of examining structure, it attained its present compre- 

 hensiveness as a term applying to the study of structure generally. 



It has been found convenient, especially in human anatomy, to 

 distinguish as Gross Anatomy, the study of that kind of structure which 

 is displayed by dissection, or is revealed by naked-eye appearances, and 

 as Microscopic Anatomy, the study of finer structure through the ap- 

 plication of the microscope; or, again, to distinguish as Special or Des- 

 criptive Anatomy, the study of the particular features of the organs of the 

 body, and as General Anatomy, the study of its more fundamental 

 composition. General Anatomy is practically equivalent to Histology, 

 the latter considering the body from the point of view of the structure 

 and arrangement of its cells and tissues. 



These distinctions are of interest in the present case chiefly as 

 defining more exactly the practical method and the kind of structure to 

 be considered. Thus, dissection is to be recognized as a method of 

 displaying structure of a gross and special kind. It consists in the 

 orderly exposure and displacement of organs with the object of observing 

 their features and relations to surrounding parts. The plan is essentially 

 one of analysis, since conceptions of structure are based on the recogni- 

 tion of differences, the latter being estimated by various features, such 

 as form, color, texture, or position. On the other hand, because of the 

 class of structure with which it deals, dissection is also to be recognized 

 as a preliminary method in comparison with various others involving 

 the use of the microscope. 



