PREFACE. 



The object of the present book is to set forth the chief facts of 

 mammalian structure in an elementary, practical form; further, to use 

 the anatomy of a typical mammal as a means of applying the more 

 useful definitions of human anatomy and, so far as the limitations of a 

 single type permit, also the broader conceptions of morphological zoology. 

 On the practical side, its chief aim is to place before the student the 

 materials necessary for a practical study of the type, rather than a 

 descriptive account of its organization, though in some cases, notably 

 in the treatment of the skeleton, it has been possible to follow a descrip- 

 tive method without departing from the original plan. 



The inclusion of a section devoted to certain general aspects of the 

 structure of the rabbit will, it is hoped, encourage the student to prose- 

 cute his practical study with a more liberal point of view. As to the 

 subject-matter of this section, its selection has been a matter of no little 

 difficulty, and, doubtless, in many respects it might have been improved 

 upon. One must feel, however, that the first question is not one of 

 detail, but of general principle. Progress depends to a considerable 

 extent on the ability to attack small problems with a large spirit. At 

 the present time a vast amount of effort is being devoted to the planning 

 of laboratory courses, and with increasing specialization it becomes more 

 than ever the duty of the instructor to see that the student does not 

 leave the laboratory, provided with a mass of detailed information, but 

 with general conceptions as crude as when he entered it. 



As a laboratory type the rabbit has been made familiar to students 

 through various zoological textbooks and especially through the 

 "Zootomy" of Parker. The use of the animal, however, so far as one 

 may judge, has not been as extensive as its general convenience would 

 seem to warrant. It may, therefore, be of some value to direct atten- 

 tion to this form by providing more facilities for its study. It is un- 

 fortunate, in many respects, that no recent and adequate account of 

 the anatomy of the rabbit is available, as is the case with other mammals 

 used for laboratory study, the classic " Anatomie des Kaninchens" of 

 Krause, published in 1884, being still the common source of information. 



Mammalian dissection is probably of most value to two classes of 

 students, namely, medical or premedical students using it as an intro- 

 duction to human anatomy, histology, or physiology, and zoological 

 students using it as an introduction, or as part of the laboratory prac- 

 tice of vertebrate zoology. For the latter class two aspects of the 

 subject are especially worthy of consideration. One is the more or less 

 detailed study devoted to a single type; the other, the study of a 

 specialized type, the latter point being of more importance if the sub- 



