1881.] 



MICEOSCOPICAL JOTJE^AL. 



9Y 



them to resolve the lines on the later 

 test-plate. Mr. Nobert was extreme- 

 ly reticent as to the method of pro- 

 ducing his fine rulings, and it is 

 doubtful if he has communicated to 

 any one the secret of his process of 

 making and adjusting the ruling 

 points." 



o 



Klein's Atlas of Histology. — 

 The title of this work conveys no 

 adequate idea of its comprehensive 

 character. The fact that those micro- 

 scopists in this country who are in- 

 terested in the subject, have had little 

 or no opportunity of learning any- 

 thing 3.bout it from the American 

 press, leads me to beg the privilege 

 of using a little of your space, to 

 briefly outline to the readers of your 

 Journal a few of the many valuable 

 features of this monument to the thor- 

 ough knowledge of one of the lead- 

 ing English histologists, E. Klein, 

 M. D., as well as to the artistic skill 

 of the most expert medical draughts- 

 man of the present day, E. Noble 

 Smith. 



The work is not, as the name v/ould 

 imply, a mere series of illustrations 

 with brief descriptions ; but, so far 

 as our present knowledge permits, 

 it is a complete instructor, both literal 

 and pictorial to the student of histolo- 

 gy, furnishing him with a standard of 

 excellence, at which he may aim in 

 the preparation of tissues for micro- 

 scopical examination. The illustra- 

 tions represent specimens, colored 

 and uncolored. The former, stained 

 by different reagents which are all 

 specially mentioned in the descrip- 

 tion of the figures. The uncolored 

 figures generally represent fresh, or 

 unstained specimens, or in a very few 

 cases are copied from other authors. 

 Nearly all of the illustrations in the 48 

 plates, with upward of 500 figures, 

 have been carefully selected from 

 preparations made by Dr. Klein him- 

 self, which is a sufficient guarantee 

 of their excellent adaptation, to illus- 

 trate the points in question. Besides 

 his great skill, the artist has exhibited 



a full knowledge of the subject by 

 selecting choice parts of the slide for 

 representation. The text, besides a 

 full explanation of the illustrations 

 themselves, furnishes the student with 

 a comprehensive, concise and mod- 

 ern account of the histology of man, 

 as understood by the ablest observers 

 down to the year 1880. It informs 

 him concerning what is fully under- 

 stood, and in other cases clearly 

 states the uncertainty and point out 

 the way for the student to investigate 

 for himself. 



In the language of the British Medi- 

 cal Journal : " The text is full of ac- 

 curate, recent, and lucid information. 

 It is long since any work of more 

 entirely satisfactory conception and 

 execution has issued from the English 

 medical press. This is very high 

 praise ; but the rare merits of this 

 standard production deserves no less." 



The subject-matter is treated (to 

 quote from the preface), in the fol- 

 lowing manner : " First the elemen- 

 tary tissues, blood, epithelial and end- 

 othelial, connective tissues, muscular 

 tissues, the nervous, vascular and 

 lymphatic systems. After which the 

 compound tissues are treated seria- 

 tim, the alimentary canal and its 

 glands, the respiratory organs, the 

 skin and special sense organs." In 

 the last chapter but one Dr. 

 Klein has treated of those organs, 

 the nature of which is but little 

 known, the thyroid and coccygeal 

 glands, and the supra-renal capsule. 

 The final chapter and lower half of 

 the last plate, is devoted to a descrip- 

 tion and illustration of the indirect 

 division of the nucleus of the epithel- 

 ial cells, which has been noticed by 

 so many modern observers, both in 

 animal and vegetable cells. A descrip- 

 tion of the process of indirect divi- 

 sion, and the peculiar arrangement of 

 the reticulated protoplasm of the 

 nuclei during this, is well described 

 and figured by Dr. Klein, in the new 

 histology, as seen under a modern 

 high-angled homogeneous-immersion 

 objective. If any of the readers of 



