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PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION 



As the publishers wish me to write a preface to the 

 translation of Schenck and Giirber's "Outlines of Human 

 Physiology, ' ' I will briefly state my reason for having 

 recommended the translation of this book. It seems to me 

 that the present text-books of human physiology no longer 

 adequately express our knowledge of the laws of life 

 phenomena. A number of facts which throw new light upon 

 the subject have been established by the extension of physio- 

 logical research to Invertebrates, by the recently developed 

 experimental or rather physiological morphology, and by 

 the application of physical chemistry to physiological prob- 

 lems. It is uncertain how soon these new results will be 

 embodied in the text-books of human physiology. The 

 student will have to acquire his knowledge of these new 

 subjects for the present from the study of monographs'. In 

 order to give him the time to do this the contents 'of the 

 traditional text-book of human physiology should be made 

 accessible to him in a more condensed form. To my knowl- 

 edge no book answers this purpose better than Schenck and 

 Gurber's manual. 



I have had no connection with the translation. The credit 

 as well as the responsibility belongs entirely to Mr. Zoethout. 



JACQUES LOEB. 



UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, November 2, 1900. 



