PREFACE. y 



so that the relation between microscopic anatomy and the sci- 

 entific practice of medicine is readily appreciated. 



Emanating as the v.olume does from American sources, the 

 editor finds it a fitting place to give proper space to American 

 contributions, and the reader may therefore find due notice of 

 the physiological desquamation of blood-vessels, considerations 

 on the nature of nerve-termini, matters relating to the intimate 

 structure of the striped muscular fibre and nerves, with the 

 results of studies on the structure and development of certain 

 connective substances, and novelties in microscopic apparatus 

 and methods. A special chapter is also given to the thick 

 cutis vera, now for the first time described as a distinctive 

 portion of the skin. In it will be found detailed the discovery 

 of the fat-columns, which are calculated to explain certain 

 pathological changes that have been imperfectly understood. 



The first chapters of the book are devoted to the mechanism 

 of the microscope, and to certain formal methods of work with 

 which the beginner should be familiar. Of the illustrations, 

 sixty-five were prepared for the volume, while forty have never, 

 it is believed, appeared in book-form. The remainder are 

 mostly from the manuals of Strieker and Frey. 



A limited number of bibliographical references have been in- 

 serted where it was thought they were desirable in guiding 

 the reader to the literature of the subject. For the prepara- 

 tion of these tables and much valuable assistance, the editor 

 here desires to express his thanks to Dr. E. C. Wendt, of this 

 city. 



It was thought best to omit the subject of optical principles 

 which figure so conspicuously in some of our histological 

 manuals. Those who wish information on these matters are 

 referred to any of the standard text-books on physics, where 



