2 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 
very crude and imperfect. In our own city, Alexander Monro 
secundus, a man of European reputation, occupied the Chair 
of Anatomy in the University. Twelve years later, in 1783, 
he published his great work, entitled “ Observations on the 
Structure and Functions of the Nervous System.” In this 
work Monro made no attempt to show that the convolutions 
and fissures of the human brain were arranged in any definite 
or regular manner. In fact, at this time anatomists believed 
them to be as irregular and indefinite as the coils of the 
small intestine, or a dish of macaroni. 
Three years after the appearance of Monro’s “ Observa- 
tions,’ Vicq d’Azyr published in Paris his “Anatomie et 
Physiologie du Cerveau,” as the first volume of a complete 
treatise on anatomy and physiology which he intended to 
issue. Although the only volume of the series which ever 
appeared, it is in itself an imperishable monument of his 
industry, learning, manipulative dexterity, and accurate 
observation. It consists of five cahiers of plates and three 
cahiers of text. The five cahiers of figures contain thirty- 
five coloured plates, and the same plates in black with 111 
pages of explanation. As an atlas of the naked-eye anatomy 
of the adult human brain, it far surpassed in the number, the 
artistic excellence, and the fidelity to nature of the drawings, 
any previously published work on the subject. The plates 
are life-size, and Vicq d’Azyr spared no pains to render them 
accurate. Many of them, especially the views of the brain 
from above, were made from dissections of this organ while 
still within the cranial cavity. By this means he preserved 
the natural shape and relations of its different parts. A 
study of the text accompanying the plates will show that he 
was thoroughly familiar with the researches of his predeces- 
sors. He makes frequent reference to the works of Vesalius, | 
Eustachius, Etienne, Willis, Bidloo and Cowper, Morand, 
Tarin, Seemmerring, Haller, and Monro, and points out both 
the merits and the imperfections of their illustrations. It 
is not surprising to hear that Vicq d’Azyr’s work created 
a considerable sensation when it appeared, and has ever 
since been a fertile source for the illustrations of our text- 
books. It must be admitted, however, that his illustrations 
