PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION 



THE object of this volume is to put before medical students 

 as succinctly as possible the essential facts of human 

 physiology, and to emphasise specially those parts of the 

 science which are of cardinal importance in medicine and 

 surgery. 



Physiology has now become so wide in scope that the 

 ordinary student must limit his attention to matters which 

 have a direct bearing upon his professional work. Fortunately 

 the study of this limited field affords ample opportunity for 

 cultivating the scientific methods of observation and of 

 thought, which should be gained by the student before 

 approaching his clinical studies. 



In writing this book, I have endeavoured to recognise 

 and to adhere to these limitations, and hence many parts 

 of physiology which occupy considerable space in the 

 ordinary text-books have been relegated to minor positions, 

 while parts which have a direct bearing upon the study 

 of medicine have been purposely given a prominence which 

 their importance, when viewed from the purely scientific 

 standpoint, would hardly warrant. 



Physiology, like anatomy, must be studied practically. 

 But it is impossible for students to perform more than a 

 small number of the experiments which are the ground- 

 work of the science, and it is the duty of the teacher to in- 

 dicate such a course of practical exercises as it is possible for 

 them to accomplish, and which will form a basis upon which 



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