PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 



The primary aim of the writer in the preparation of these pages 

 has been to give to the student of medicine a text-book of histology 

 for use in connection with practical laboratory instruction, and espe- 

 cially to furnish to the instructor of histology a satisfactory manual 

 for classroom teaching. With these objects in view, the text has 

 been made as concise as possible consistent with clearness, and the 

 writer has attempted to make the more essential elements stand out 

 somewhat from the necessarily accompanying details. 



It has been impossible to accomplish this without some sacrifice 

 of uniformity of treatment and of logical sequence. This is especially 

 noticeable in the chapter on the nervous system, which has been made 

 much fuller and more "practical" than is usual. The author's reason 

 for the method of treatment there adopted and for the considerable 

 amount of anatomy which this chapter contains is the apparent 

 success the method has met with in the teaching of this always 

 difficult subject to st ^nts. 



The chapter on g' ral technic is intended to furnish the student 

 with only the more sential laboratory methods. For special and 

 more elaborate me ds the student is referred to the special works 

 on technic mentioned at the close of the chapter. The special tech- 

 nic given in connection with the different tissues and organs is in 

 most cases such as can be conveniently used for the preparation of 

 class sections. 



The original illustrations are from drawings by Mr. A. M. Miller, 

 to whom the writer is greatly indebted for his careful and accurate 

 work. The uselessness of redrawing perfectly satisfactory illustra- 

 tions has led the writer to borrow freely from various sources, each 

 cut being duly accredited to the work from which it has been taken. 

 For all of these the author wishes to express his appreciation and obli- 

 gation. He is also deeply indebted to Dr. O. S. Strong for his careful 

 review and criticism of the chapter on the nervous system and for his 

 supervision of the drawing of Figs. 263 and 264; to Dr. G. C. Free- 

 born, his predecessor as Instructor of Histology at the College of Phy- 

 sicians and Surgeons, for many valuable suggestions; and to Dr. T. 

 Mitchell Prudden for his careful and critical review of the author's 

 copy. 



