March 12, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



399 



great anatomists o£ the past, is now too often 

 replaced by va^e considerations of tlie method 

 of science and ideals of observation. A re- 

 turn to the study of animals, as objects of in- 

 terest in themselves, apart from theoretical 

 considerations and possible relations to hu- 

 man society, is therefore recommended. The 

 student should obtain a synoptic knowledge of 

 the animal kingdom, and should be able to 

 classify, in a general way, and to describe the 

 life histories of the common forms of animals, 

 aquatic and terrestrial, which may be collected 

 in his locality. A beginning in such work 

 may well be made by the student independ- 

 ently or perhaps in high-school courses, but 

 such fragmentary and elementary studies 

 should be supplemented by a thorough college 

 course. The first-hand familiarity with ani- 

 mals should serve as the basis for all further 

 work. 



2. As a result of the knowledge of genera 

 and species which the student should have 

 obtained directly for himsielf by studying 

 some group of animals or plants, questions of 

 the origin of species and of the relation of 

 the great classes of animals to one another are 

 inevitably before him as philosophical prob- 

 lems. Collateral reading then becomes as nec- 

 essary for the biologist as for the man of 

 learning in any other branch of knowledge. 

 Selected works of Lamarck, Darwin, Huxley, 

 Mendel an'd others should be freely consulted. 

 This literature, -which in its influence upon 

 human thought has far outspread the bounds 

 of biology, should not be neglected by the 

 student of zoology, whose particular heritage 

 it is. Since the idea that science can not be 

 read, and' that there is no knowledge in books, 

 is often taught as a cardinal principle, it has 

 come about that students of zoology have lit- 

 tle knowledge of, or respect for, the writings 

 of the makers of their science. 



3. Before beginning the study of human 

 histology, every student may reasonably be ex- 

 pected to be familiar with the use of the micro- 

 scope and with the simpler methods of pre- 

 paring specimens for microscopic examina- 

 tion. This technique can be learned in con- 

 nection with various courses, perhaps the 



most useful of which is a general study of 

 the cell with a comparative study of the ele- 

 mentary tissues. The maturation of the germ 

 cells and the processes of fertilization and 

 segmentation can not be properly presented 

 in the medical curriculuim, and these funda- 

 mental biological phenomena should there- 

 fore be observed in college courses. The de- 

 velopment of the chick, which was studied 

 primarily by physicians to explain the growth 

 of the human embryo, can likewise receive 

 little attention in the medical school. These 

 subjects are all very desirable in themselves, 

 and if studied by laboratory methods, will 

 supply the requisite skill in the use of the 

 microscope. 



4. In preparing for human dissection, com- 

 parative anatomy should be studied with the 

 same standards of thoroughness which obtain 

 in the dissecting room. The student should 

 learn to dissect rapidly and well, and to re- 

 cord with careful drawings and brief descrip- 

 tions the forms and relations of the structures 

 which he has disclosed. But such studies are 

 not useful merely for their methods. A 

 knowledge of comparative anatomy, including 

 especially the anatomy of the lower verte- 

 brates, is indispensable for understanding the 

 structure of the human 'body. For other rea- 

 sons also, human anatomy must be treated as 

 an advanced study. The state does not pro- 

 vide bodies for dissection in order that un- 

 trained students may learn from them those 

 elementary facts, which may be understood 

 equally well by dissecting cats or rabbits. 

 " It is absurd," says President Eliot, " to be- 

 gin with the human body the practise of dis- 

 section." And the value of dissection is so 

 great in relation to both medicine and sur- 

 gery, that an adequate preparation should be 

 required. For the study of anatomy, in the 

 words of Lord Macauley, " is not a mere ques- 

 tion of science; it is not the unprofitable ex- 

 ercise of an ingenious mind; it is a question 

 between health and sickness, between ease and 

 torment, between life and death." 



5. Finally, these recommendations may be 

 summarized as a plea for a more thorough 

 study of zoology on the part of those planning 



