THE RELATIONS OF ANATOMY 365 



of topographic anatomy, begin to be more -numerous; also the special 

 treatises on these subjects, and, finally, the searching investigation of 

 specialists in the anatomy of certain regions begins at this time. 



Human anatomy continues to develop itself more and more com- 

 pletely in all these directions up to our own day. We must recognize 

 the branch of human anatomy, and limit ourselves to this branch 

 according to the following scheme: 



(1) Descriptive anatomy of the human body. 



(2) Topographic anatomy of the human body. 



(3) General anatomy. 



(4) The anatomy of different ages of man from the first develop- 



ment until natural death caused by old age. 



(5) The anatomy of the human races in all these relations. 



All these must receive scientific enlightenment from the general 

 history of development, as well as from comparative anatomy of that 

 branch of animals to which man belongs physically, the vertebrata. 



I may be permitted to make here an explanatory observation. We 

 must distinguish sharply, as is not always done, between general 

 anatomy, histology, or the study of tissues, and microscopic anatomy. 

 General anatomy is the most inclusive. Histology is only a small 

 part of general anatomy, which also includes general morphology, 

 the study of the form of the animal body, especially in connection 

 with the vertebrata, as well as the general physical properties of the 

 component parts of the human and animal body. Chemical considera- 

 tions, of course, come in also. Microscopic anatomy is, on the con- 

 trary, an artificially created division which practical necessity has 

 permitted to remain. It belongs to descriptive as well as to gen- 

 eral anatomy, and has no sharp limits from descriptive anatomy 

 as far as this can be determined by observation with the naked eye. 

 With the same justification one might speak of a maceration anatomy, 

 of a staining anatomy, of a dissection anatomy of a serial section 

 anatomy. By the retention of the term microscopic anatomy we only 

 satisfy a practical need. It must be clear to us that it remains de- 

 scription, whether the anatomy of the external form and relation- 

 ships, for instance, of the human liver is depicted, and the form, 

 color, and limits of the lobes is described, or whether the construction 

 of these lobes from special liver cells, as the essential part and from 

 a connective tissue framework with blood and lymph vessels, nerves 

 and fine bile-ducts, is demonstrated and the details of their relations 

 described. 



This, in my opinion, is the way in which the realm and position 

 of human anatomy in the plan of science must be considered. 



In conformance with the task set before us, we must now deter- 

 mine to what causes and motives the development of human anatomy 

 is due, and which sciences have assisted in its development. 



