INTRODUCTION 



(To be read before starting practical work.) 



Before starting work the student should get a clear idea of the 

 objects of the Course. They are twofold First, to train him in 

 the investigation of the many problems of medical science which he 

 has afterwards to face, and to teach him to observe, record, and 

 describe the vital phenomena with which he has to deal. Second, 

 to give him a real and sound practical foundation for his after study 

 of Physiology, based upon his personal experience and not upon 

 the dicta of his teacher and Text Books. 



For these reasons, the problems to be investigated and the 

 methods of investigation are indicated here ; but the results to 

 be obtained and the conclusions to be drawn are left to the student, 

 who must, before all, learn to observe and to experiment with 

 a mind open to accept whatever results may be obtained. From 

 these he should attempt the solution of the problem under 

 investigation. 



Throughout this Course the student should keep careful records 

 of every experiment he performs, and these should be made as the 

 experiment proceeds and not some time after its completion. When 

 apparatus is used, he should make diagrams of its arrangement, and 

 tracings must be fixed and preserved. Before beginning an experi- 

 ment he must first clearly understand its object, and enter in his 

 note-book the question to be investigated. He must also, before 

 starting, understand the method adopted and how it will throw light 

 upon the question. These methods may be divided into the 

 objective and the subjective. The former attempts to arrange 

 that the processes under investigation, so far as possible, record 

 themselves ; while the latter consists in the examination of the 

 sensations of the experimenter himself or of another person as 

 described by that person. 



While carrying out the experiment he should not confine his 

 attention only to the main result, but should observe everything 

 that happens, and record for further investigation anything he 

 does not understand. An attempt must be made to draw conclusions 

 from the results obtained, and to give an answer to the question 

 which is under investigation. 



In each experiment the student must record : 1. The Object. 



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