PREFACE. 



AFTER three years of more or less constant labour, the wel- 

 come and often-wished-for period of the completion of this 

 work has arrived, and the author is at liberty to address 

 himself to his readers, and to explain the motives and the 

 circumstances which have led to its production. 



The idea of this work presented itself to the author's 

 mind several years since ; it was not, however, until about 

 the period above referred to, that its actual execution was 

 commenced. 



At the time when its design was first conceived, the 

 powers of the microscope in developing organic structure 

 were but beginning to be known and appreciated, and the 

 importance of its application to physiology and pathology 

 was but dimly perceived. 



At that period, also, but few complete works devoted to 

 microscopic anatomy had appeared in any language, native 

 or foreign ; more recently this deficiency, as respects France 

 and Germany, has been well supplied by the appearance of 

 several original works, as those of Donne, Mandl, Lebert, 

 M tiller, Henle, Vogcl, Gerber, and Wagner; England, how- 

 ever, has not as yet contributed her share of distinct and 

 independent works on general anatomy : not that our ob- 

 servers have been idle, or have neglected a field of inquiry 

 so interesting and important, resting satisfied with mere 

 translations : a whole host of intelligent and able microscopists 

 have applied themselves to the investigation of the ultimate 



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