INTRODUCTION. 



THE Science of Anatomy has, of late years, been di- 

 vided into Descriptive and General. This distinction, 

 though faintly traced by preceding anatomists, owes its 

 present prominence to the labours of the celebrated Bi- 

 chat; and the daily observations of physiologists and pa- 

 thologists, are only renewed and concurrent evidences 

 of its importance and value in the practice of medicine. 

 Although the distinction is only coming into vogue in 

 this country, the tendency to it is so great that in a 

 few years more, medical language and ideas will be 

 universally tinged with it; it is proper, therefore, that 

 it should be defined in such a manner, that it may be 

 perfectly intelligible to the student. 



Descriptive Anatomy teaches the exterior form of or- 

 gans, their magnitude, their position, their connexions 

 with adjacent parts ; and their intimate texture or or- 

 ganization. As in this way every individual part is 

 brought under a strict review, it is this division of the 

 science which gives skill to the surgeon. The term is 

 not entirely appropriate, because description means any 

 account whatever ; the substitution of the phrase Special 

 Anatomy is, therefore, one of the improvements of the 

 present day, and is very much resorted to. 



General Anatomy may be explained, as its great 



