INTRODUCTION. 
As a laboratory exercise the anatomical study of an animal is 
chiefly a matter of applying a certain practical method of exposi- 
tion, the student’s attention being concentrated on those facts 
which can be made out by direct observation. This method is 
educative in the technical sense because it involves accurate 
discernment of detail, and, as a means of obtaining first-hand 
information, it is the foundation of laboratory practice. 
In studying the structure of any organism, however, it is to be 
considered that the final object is not simply to determine in what 
its structure consists, i.e., its anatomy in a restricted sense, but 
also to understand what structure signifies, either as functional 
mechanism, or as the product of racial or evolutionary factors. 
While it is conceivable that a single organism, either as individual 
or species, may be considered by itself, a very superficial study 
suffices to show that the structure and function of no living organism 
can be interpreted apart from the general arrangements of organized 
nature, and more especially from the corresponding features of 
those organisms most nearly allied in point of resemblance. 
This being the case, it becomes a more or less practical question 
in comparative study combined with dissection, or other form of 
laboratory practice, what the proper procedure should be. So far 
as the present book is concerned, it is expected that the study of the 
type will begin with the examination of the prepared skeleton 
(part II). This will be followed by dissection (part III), in which 
the order by sections will be found to be of less importance than 
that of details in any particular region. The general matter of 
part I is purely accessory, and though necessarily incomplete in 
many ways, is designed to afford a comprehensive view of the 
various factors upon which mammalian structure depends. 
Regional sections of the foetus as figured in part I, or frozen 
sections of the adult animal, are a useful adjunct, since they can 
be used either for points of general organization, or, being sub- 
stantially correct for two dimensions, can be used to remove some 
erroneous impressions of the position of organs incidental to their 
displacement in dissection. 
