LECTURE I; 21, 



Fontano, it must be granted, possessed 

 considerable talent in microscopical observ- 

 ations ; for he says, that he could readily 

 distinguish the nature of any animal sub- 

 stance, which might be placed on the field 

 of his microscope, by regarding its ultimate 

 fibres, and according to him the muscular 

 fibres are much smaller than those of the 

 nerves. Proscaska and others assert, that 

 the ultimate muscular fibres are continued 

 throughout the whole length of a muscle. 

 How marvellous, (could we but see it,) 

 would such a slender thread appear, con- 

 tinued throughout the whole length of the 

 human sartorius. Haller, however, affirms 

 that the fibres are not continued, but that 

 one set terminating another begins. Sus- 

 pecting that Haller employed the solar mi- 

 croscope on this occasion, as he says he 

 had done on others, I examined muscular 

 fibres with this instrument. Now, though 

 I place no confidence in my own ob- 

 servation, and think the subject unimport- 

 ant as to any conclusion that may be de- 

 duced from it, yet I will tell you how a 

 portion of a muscle appeared to me when 



c 3 



