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<\° PREFACE. u vii 



De BLAiNViLLE,iand my own ' Odontography,' are examples of 

 this way of anatomy. John Hunter assembled the evidences 

 of his labours, in the unique and grand department of his Museum 

 illustrative of anatomy properly so called, in series according to 

 the organ, beginning with the simplest form, followed in succession 

 by the progressively more complex conditions of the same organ, 

 the series culminating, in most cases, with that which exists in 

 the human frame. The mechanism of the organ is here unfolded, 

 and its gradations were compared, to discover its mode of work- 

 ing ; and, as ' Physiology ' mainly consists in such determinations 

 of functions or final aim, this kind of investigation of organic 

 structures might be termed 'Physiological Anatomy.' ' 



'JTomological Anatomy ' seeks in the characters of an organ 

 and part those, chiefly of relative position and connections, that 

 guide to a conclusion manifested by applying the same name to 

 such part or organ, so far as the determination of the namesakeism 

 or homology has been carried out in the animal kingdom. This 

 aim of anatomy concerns itself little, if at all, with function, and 

 has led to generalisations of high import, beyond the reach of one 

 who rests on final causes. It has been termed, grandiloquently, 

 ' Transcendental ' and ' Philosophical ;' but every kind of anatomy 

 ought to be so pursued as to deserve the latter epithet. 



A fourth way of anatomy is that which takes a particular 

 species in the course of individual development, from the impreg- 

 nated ovum, tracing each organ step by step in its evolution up 

 to the adult condition. It is called ' Embryology ' and ' Develop- 

 mental Anatomy.' 



A fifth way of anatomy is that which investigates the structure 

 of an animal in its totality, with the view of learning how the 

 form or state of one part or organ is necessitated by its functional 

 connections with another, and how the co-ordination of organs is 

 adapted to the habits and sphere of life of the species ; but does 



1 See ' Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Physiological Series of Com- 

 parative Anatomy in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,' 4to. 5 vols. 

 1832-1840; 2nd ed. vol. i. 1852. 



