ANATOMY. 



the thousand evident proofs of the aston- 

 ishing art of the Creator, in forming and 

 sustaining an animal body such as ours, 

 without feeling the most pleasing enthu- 

 siasm ? Can we seriously reflect upon this 

 awful subject, without being almost lost in 

 adoration ! Without longing for another 

 life after this, in which we may be grati- 

 fied with the highest enjoyment which our 

 faculties and nature seem capable of, the 

 seeing and comprehendingthe wholejplan 

 of the Creator, informing the universe, 

 and directing its operations. 



In the excellent work of Archdeacon 

 I'uley, on natural theology, this view of 

 the subject is most ably explained and 

 illustrated ; and the subject is pursued 

 through all its details. We strongly re- 

 commend this work, as exhibiting, in a 

 popular form, a very interesting view of 

 the structure and functions of animal bo- 

 dies ; and we subjoin the following ex- 

 tract, as a very successful ^application of 

 the argument. 



" ft has been said, that a man cannot 

 lift his hand to his head, without finding 

 enough to convince him of the existence 

 of a God. And it is well said ; for he has 

 only to reflect, familiar as this action is, 

 and simple as it seems to be, how many 

 things are requisite for the peiformingof 

 it: how many things which we understand, 

 to say nothing of many more, probably, 

 which we do not; viz. first, a long, hard, 

 strong cylinder, to give to the arm its firm- 

 ness and tension ; but which, being rigid, 

 and, in its substance, inflexible, can only 

 turn upon joints: secondly, therefore, 

 joints for this purpose, one at the shoulder 

 to raise the arm, another at the elbow to 

 bend it ; these joints continually fed with 

 a soft mucilage, to make the parts slide 

 easily upon one another, and holden to- 

 gether by strong braces, to keep them in 

 their position : then, thirdly, strings and 

 wires, i. e. muscles and tendons, artificially 

 inserted, for the purpose of drawing the 

 bones in the directions in which the joints 

 allow them to move. Hitherto, we seem 

 to understand the mechanism pretty well ; 

 and,understandingthis,we possess enough 

 for our conclusion : nevertheless, we have 

 hitherio only a machine standing still ; a 

 dead organization an apparatus. To put 

 tin- system in a state of activity ; to set it 

 at work ; a further provision is necessary, 

 viz. a communication with the brain by 

 means of nerves. We know the existence 

 of tills communication, because we can see 

 the communicating threads, and can trace 

 :<) the brain ; its necessity we also 

 know, because, if the thread be cut, if the 

 communication be intercepted,the muscle 



becomes paralytic: but beyond 



know little ; the organization being too 



minute and subtle for our inspection. 



" To what has been enumerated, as offi- 

 ciating in the single act of a man's raising 

 his hand to his head, must be added, like- 

 wise, all that is necessary, and all that con- 

 tributes to the growth, nourishment, and 

 sustentation of the limb, the repair of its 

 waste, the preservation of its health ; such 

 as the circulation of the blood through 

 every part of it ; its lymphatics, exhalants., 

 absorbents ; its excretions and integu- 

 ments. All these share in the result ; join 

 in the effect : and how all these, or any ol" 

 them, come together, without a design- 

 ing, disposing intelligence, it is impossi- 

 ble to conceive." 



But the more immediate purposes of 

 anatomy concern those who are to be the 

 guardians of health, as this study is ne- 

 cessary to lay a foundation for all the 

 branches of medicine. 



The more we know of our fabric, the 

 more reason we have to believe, that, if 

 our senses were more acute, and our judg- 

 ment more enlarged, we should be able to 

 trace many springs of life, which are now 

 hidden from us ; by the same sagacity we 

 should discover the true causes and na- 

 ture of diseases, and thereby be enabled 

 to restore the health of many, who are 

 now, from our more confined knowledge,, 

 said to labour under incurable disorders. 

 By such an intimate acquaintance with the 

 economy of our bodies, we should disco- 

 ver even the seeds of diseases, and de- 

 troy them, before they had taken root in 

 the constitution. 



This, indeed, is a pitch of knowledge 

 which we must not expect to attain. But, 

 surely, we may go some way; and, there- 

 fore, let us endeavour to go as far as we 

 can. And if we consider that health and 

 disease are the opposites of each other, 

 there can be no doubt, that the study of 

 the natural state of the body, which con- 

 stitutes the one T must be the directroad 

 to the knowledge of the other. What 

 has been said, of the usefulness of anatomy 

 in physic, will only be called in question by 

 the more illiterate empirics among physi- 

 cians. They would discourage others from 

 the pursuit of knowledge which they 

 have not themselves, and which, there- 

 fore, they cannot know the value of, and 

 tell us that a little of anatomy is enough 

 for a physician. 



That anatomy is the very basis of sur- 

 gery every body allows. It is dissection 

 alone that can teach us where we may cm 

 the living body with freedom and dis- 

 patch ; where we may venture with greuv 



