26 MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER. 



commendations of Baron Halier, then considered the 

 first physiologist in Europe, and still command ad- 

 miration to the present day. 



It would he out of place to enter into details of 

 these anatomical and purely professional investiga- 

 tions. They were regularly expounded in the lec- 

 tures of Dr William Hunter for a succession of 

 years, and some of them were published in his Me- 

 dical Commentaries. Further information regarding 

 them may be found in Dr Simmon's Life of Dr 

 Hunter, to which we refer those who are interested 

 in such subjects. The same observation applies to 

 Mr Hunter's labours in the department of surgery, 

 which, though of the highest merit, are of such a 

 nature as to preclude their being introduced to the 

 notice of any but the professional reader. As we 

 have already hinted, however, Mr Hunter's labours 

 were not confined to professional investigations. He 

 soon discovered that human anatomy presented too 

 narrow a field for his ardent research. Many parts 

 of the human frame being so complex that their 

 structure and uses had hitherto baffled inquiry, he 

 was led to examine similar parts in other animals, 

 where the structure was more simple, and more 

 within the reach of observation. Hence he was 

 conducted not only to comparative anatomy, but to 

 the whole science of zoology, which thenceforward 

 became the favourite pursuit of his life*;) Even at 

 this early stage of his career, we find him laying the 

 foundation of that Museum of Comparative Auato* 



