THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



THE u Pocket-book of Anatomy" is intended to afford the Student a short 

 and comprehensive detail of anatomical facts, suited to the practical tendency 

 of the " Medical Encyclopaedia."* It may serve either as an introduction to 

 the study of Anatomy, or for refreshing the memory, more especially of those 

 preparing for examinations. With this view, the relations which Anatomy 

 bears to Physiology, Pathology, and Surgery, have been considered in an espe- 

 cial manner, either tacitly intimated, or expressly mentioned; but critical and 

 useless observations have been, as far as appeared practicable, disregarded. 



Our German Handbooks and introductions (especially that of C. A. Bock) 

 have only very lately attempted to appropriate, from the French, the advan- 

 tages of a clear, summary, and agreeable detail ; the author of the Pocket-book 

 also thinks that he might take the latter as a model for his work without dero- 

 gating from the much-prized German profoundness. We trust we shall not 

 be misunderstood, as though we were going to encourage an unscientific 

 superficiality. On the contrary, we wish that the science were seriously con- 

 sidered, and that the trouble which the mere elements require, increasing, as 

 it does daily, with the growth of materials, may not be unnecessarily en- 

 hanced, but applied to that which is really useful. 



The science of Physiology and Anatomy has, since the year 1838, received 

 so important an elevation in consequence of Schwann's cell theory, that the 

 author does not hesitate to take it as the foundation of his work, and he chiefly 

 refers for farther study to the admirable work of Henle (Sommerring, Allge- 

 meine Anatomie, ed. Henle). 



In the special anatomy, the author, although aiming at the greatest brevity, 

 saw the necessity of frequent repetitions, which, although of use to the Stu- 

 dent, are detrimental to the uniformity of the book ; which, by the utmost 

 precision in doubtful points, by greater amplitude in some sections, by the 

 statement of numerical determinations, by tabular views, and by the addition 

 of the Topographical portion and the situs viscerum, he tried to give it, and thus 

 to make it preferred to similar pocket-books. 



* See Translator's Preface. 



