CHAPTEK VIII. 



THE PROBABLE NATUEE AND EXTENT OF 

 ARISTOTLE'S DISSECTIONS. 



To the readers of Aristotle's zoological works, especially 

 Books i.-iii. of his History of Animals, the question of the 

 nature and extent of his dissections constantly presents 

 itself. This question may be considered with respect to 

 (1) the lower animals, and (2) Man, including the human 

 foetus. 



With respect to the lower animals, Aristotle often speaks 

 of the necessity for ascertaining the structure and arrange- 

 ment of their parts by means of dissections. There are 

 also many passages which clearly indicate the use of the 

 dissecting-knife, e. g., parts of the description of the cham- 

 aeleon,* of the eyes of the mole,f and of the development 

 of the chick in the egg.t Again, some of his descriptions 

 of the internal parts of animals, e.g., his description of the 

 gall-bladder of the Pelamid,§ of the complex stomach of a 

 ruminant, II and of the aorta and its branches,1l indicate 

 more than a laying open of the body of an animal and a 

 casual inspection of its internal parts. There are also 

 passages, e.g., those describing the movements of the heart 

 and sides of a chamseleon, after it had been dissected,** and 

 that referring to the movements of the heart after its 

 removal from a tortoise,! t which show that Aristotle vivi- 

 sected some of the lower animals. 



There are also statements which show that the dissec- 

 tions, if any, on which they were based were very carelessly 

 performed, e.g., the statements that the wolf and the lion 

 have only one bone in the neck and not separate vertebrae, 1 1 

 and that the stomach of a dog or lion is not much wider 



* H. A. ii. c. 7, s. 5. f Ibid. i. c. 8, s, 3. 



I Ibid. vi. c. 3, ss. 1-4. § Ibid. ii. c. 11, s. 7. 



II Ibid. ii. c. 12, ss. 5-6. 11 Ibid. in. c. 4, ss. 3-6. 



■'"''• Ibid. ii. c. 7, s. 5. f | Dc Juvent. et Scnect. c. 2, 4686. 



X\ p. A. iv. c. 10, 686rt ; H. A. ii. c. 1, s. 1. 



